In vitro Efficacy of Areca catechu against Cypermethrin Resistant Rhipicephalus microplus and its Phytochemical Analysis

This study investigated the use of the crude extract alongwith, water and petroleum ether fractions of Areca (A.) catechu seeds against cypermethrin resistant Rhipicephalus (R.) microplus. A colony of cypermethrin-resistant R. microplus was maintained on cattle calves. Areca catechu seeds were purchased from the local market of Faisalabad. The crude aqueous methanol extract (CAME) and two fractions were prepared using standard phytochemical procedures. All these extracts/fractions were used to check their efficacy against cypermethrin-resistant R. microplus by using the syringe test (Modified Larval Immersion Test). Mortality (%) results obtained in the syringe test were subjected to the Probit (dose-response) analysis and phytochemical analysis was performed to check the presence of active group of compounds. Crude extract and two fractions of A. catechu were found to be effective against cypermethrin resistant R. microplus. The most effective fraction of A. catechu was petroleum ether fraction with LC50 = 0.3, LC90 = 0.8 and LC99 = 1.7. Results of Petroleum ether fraction were significantly different (p <0.05) from other two tested fractions. In the phytochemical analysis carbohydrates, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, glycosides, volatile oils and saponins were found to be the group of compounds. These results indicated that A. catechu has acaricidal potential against cypermethrin-resistant R. microplus.