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New Delhi
Move over anti-environment insect repellents. A herbal composition developed by the ICMR is all set to prove to be an ultimate solution to curb a large number of insects, especially mosquitoes, causing water-borne diseases such as malaria, encephalitis, dengue and yellow fever which have assumed alarming proportions.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a research wing of the Health Ministry is now exploring the commercialisation of the herbal composition claimed to be useful as an insecticide and larvicide for mosquito larvae.
“Currently, the market is flooded with various insect repellent compositions that claim to keep mosquitoes away. However, these synthetic organic insecticides and malaria oil (distillate from oil refinery) affect the health and environment in the long run,” a scientist from the ICMR said.
In view of these health hazards, detailed studies were conducted on a plant, widely grown in India known for its medicinal properties. Hexane extracts from this plant were found to be effective in controlling mosquitoes, he further said.
Talking about the salient features of this product, the scientist maintained that being herbal compositions, it is easily biodegradable and is environment friendly.
“During the clinical trial, this herbal composition has been found comprehensively effective against the five mosquito vector species of three genera,” he added.
Moreover as the observed value for the herbal composition was less than 20ppm, it could be safely touted as biorational alternative molecule for organic insecticide.
The herbal composition has already got patent approval.
The Council has also claimed to develop an herbal composition exclusively useful as larvicide agent against dengue vector causing dengue fever which is becoming an alarming public health problem of countries of South-East Asia and Western Pacific region.
“In absence of any chemotherapy or vaccine against dengue, elimination of mosquito vector species transmitting and retaining virus in a setting, is only effective measure to control the dengue fever,” the scientist added.
This lavicidal agent obtained from a naturally occurring plant can be effective in curbing the mosquito vectors, he said adding that “being a natural product of wildly grown desert shrub, raw material is easily available. The plant can also be grown in laboratory through plant tissue culture.”
The scientist further maintained that larval control using said composition will not only stop transmission chain of the disease but will also eliminate inter generation circulating viruses across vector mosquito.
Move over anti-environment insect repellents. A herbal composition developed by the ICMR is all set to prove to be an ultimate solution to curb a large number of insects, especially mosquitoes, causing water-borne diseases such as malaria, encephalitis, dengue and yellow fever which have assumed alarming proportions.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a research wing of the Health Ministry is now exploring the commercialisation of the herbal composition claimed to be useful as an insecticide and larvicide for mosquito larvae.
“Currently, the market is flooded with various insect repellent compositions that claim to keep mosquitoes away. However, these synthetic organic insecticides and malaria oil (distillate from oil refinery) affect the health and environment in the long run,” a scientist from the ICMR said.
In view of these health hazards, detailed studies were conducted on a plant, widely grown in India known for its medicinal properties. Hexane extracts from this plant were found to be effective in controlling mosquitoes, he further said.
Talking about the salient features of this product, the scientist maintained that being herbal compositions, it is easily biodegradable and is environment friendly.
“During the clinical trial, this herbal composition has been found comprehensively effective against the five mosquito vector species of three genera,” he added.
Moreover as the observed value for the herbal composition was less than 20ppm, it could be safely touted as biorational alternative molecule for organic insecticide.
The herbal composition has already got patent approval.
The Council has also claimed to develop an herbal composition exclusively useful as larvicide agent against dengue vector causing dengue fever which is becoming an alarming public health problem of countries of South-East Asia and Western Pacific region.
“In absence of any chemotherapy or vaccine against dengue, elimination of mosquito vector species transmitting and retaining virus in a setting, is only effective measure to control the dengue fever,” the scientist added.
This lavicidal agent obtained from a naturally occurring plant can be effective in curbing the mosquito vectors, he said adding that “being a natural product of wildly grown desert shrub, raw material is easily available. The plant can also be grown in laboratory through plant tissue culture.”
The scientist further maintained that larval control using said composition will not only stop transmission chain of the disease but will also eliminate inter generation circulating viruses across vector mosquito.
