ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity
This article is part of the Research TopicMolecular Interactions Between Biopesticides, Plant Volatiles, Essential Oils, and Target OrganismsView all 6 articles
Chemical Composition and Larvicidal Efficacy of Essential Oils from Three Artemisia Species Endemic to the Mediterranean Region Against Culex pipiens (L.), Insecticide-Resistant Vector: In Vivo and In Silico Studies
Provisionally accepted
Khalid Chebbac1
Fatima Zahra Guerguer2
Mohammed Chalkha3,4*
Abdelfattah ELMOUSSAOUI5
Mohammed Bassouya1Soufyane Lafraxo1
Na'il Saleh6Zineb Benziane Ouaritini1
Samir Chtita2Raja Guemmouh1- 1Universite Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fes, Morocco
- 2Universite Hassan II de Casablanca Faculte des Sciences Ben M'Sik, Casablanca, Morocco
- 3Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fes, Morocco
- 4Universite Moulay Ismail Faculte des Sciences et Techniques d'Errachidia, Errachidia, Morocco
- 5Universite Abdelmalek Essaadi Faculte des Sciences, Tetouan, Morocco
- 6United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
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Abstract: Objective: This study aims to evaluate the larvicidal efficacy of essential oils extracted from three North African endemic Artemisia (A) species against the Culex pipiens mosquito, a major vector of emerging or re-emerging viruses that pose a threat to public and veterinary health in Africa, using both in vivo and in silico approaches. Methods: Third-and fourth-instar larvae were exposed to varying concentrations of essential oils from the selected Artemisia species. Lethal concentrations LC10, LC50, and LC90 for each essential oil were determined through probit analysis. The susceptibility of C. pipiens was also compared to that of the standard insecticide, temephos, under controlled laboratory conditions. Additionally, in silico studies, including molecular docking and dynamics simulations, were conducted on the major chemical constituents to further interpret and explain the in vivo results. Results: Gas chromatography analyses revealed that the essential oil of A. negrei was dominated by β-thujone (29.02%) and camphor (14.68%). In A. herba-alba Asso, α-thujone (49.19%) was the predominant compound, followed by terpinen-4-ol (9.82%). The essential oil of A. campestris was mainly characterized by camphor (33.07%) and 1,8-cineole (5.26%). A. negrei exhibited the highest larvicidal activity against C. pipiens, followed by A. campestris. In contrast, the essential oil of A. herba-alba Asso, despite its richness in oxygenated monoterpenes, showed the lowest larvicidal effectiveness. In silico investigations revealed that the examined compounds had promising binding affinities within the receptor's active site, comparable to those of the reference insecticide, temephos. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that A. negrei, an endemic species from Morocco, holds significant potential for managing C. pipiens populations and provides a promising alternative to chemical insecticides.
Keywords: Culex pipiens, Endemic Artemisia species, Essential oil, in vivo larvicidal efficacy, molecular docking, molecular dynamics
Received: 09 Nov 2025; Accepted: 10 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Chebbac, Guerguer, Chalkha, ELMOUSSAOUI, Bassouya, Lafraxo, Saleh, Benziane Ouaritini, Chtita and Guemmouh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mohammed Chalkha
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