THE EFFICACY OF BANGBANGSIT (LANTANA CAMARA LINN) AS ORGANIC KATOL

This study explores the efficacy of the developed Bangbangsit katol (Lantana camara Linn.) using dried young and matured leaves, and flowers of the plants in treating mosquitoes. L. camara is known to contain repellent properties to insect pests. Philippines, particularly in its countryside like Quirino province, hosts L. camara pandemically in its topographies. On the other hand, mosquitoes had been one of the vectors of the world’s pandemic health problem of serious human diseases that threaten human existence, i


Introduction
Lantana camara Linn.(verbenaceae), also known as diris or bangbangsit in the Philippines, is a hardy, evergreen, and straggling shrub with characteristics odor that grows up to 3m high.It is a perennial shrub found pandemically in all the terrains of Philippines as it already used as an ornamental plant in most residential areas due to its flowers' appealing elegance and color.On the other hand, it is an invasive weed in farms that threatens agricultural species and useful microorganisms as it is found to have allelopathic effects.Concomitantly, L. camara is claimed to be of an array of uses.All parts of this plant had been used traditionally for several ailments throughout the world.Its leaves are used as antitumeral, antibacterial, and antihypertensive agent (Taoubi et al., 2000).Moreover, its roots are alternatives in treating malaria, rheumatism, and skin rashes (Chharba et al, 1999).Astutely, triterpenoids, flavonoids, alkaloids, and glycosides isolates of this plant are potential for diverse biological treatments (Sharma et al., 2000).Leaves extracts of L. camara contains larvicidal activity (Chavan & Nikam, 2000).On the other hand, flower extracts presents repellent activity against mosquitoes (Dua et al., 2003;Dua, et al., 2010).In the present study, both leaves and flowers of L. camara were tested for their repellent activities.Apropos of, mosquitoes had been one of the vectors of the world's pandemic health problem of serious human diseases that threaten human existence, e.g.zika virus, malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya, among others (Dua et al., 2010).
The crux is: the establishment of such botanicals in the management of insect pests has received more attention because it offers a more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to synthetic insect-pesticides that are available in the market nowadays from indigenous plant species.This investigation involves the use of the identified chemical entities in mediating with the deleterious mosquitoes that threatens human beings.

Materials and Methods
Design.This study employed the Completely Random Design (CRD) as its experimental units were essentially homogeneous with small number of treatments.Treatments were assigned to experimental units at random: Treatment 1 -Young Leaves (These are the first four opened leaves from the terminal bud to the lower portion of the L. camara stalk.Leaves are of yellow green color.)Treatment 2 -Matured Leaves (These are the fifth opened leaves from the terminal bud of L. camara.Leaves are of green to dark green color.)Treatment 3 -Flowers (These are the opened flowers with white and pink colors).
Sample Preparation: Leaves and flowers of L. camara were collected from the field.Leaves and flowers were washed with distilled water to remove dust particles.Furthermore, they were air-dried and manually pulverized.
Test Mosquitoes: Laboratory colonies of a common mosquito were reared in a laboratory free of exposure to pathogens and insecticides.They were reared at STP at the Natural Science Laboratory of Quirino State University, Philippines.This ensured that the test mosquitoes were of the same species and of similar life state.Ten mosquitoes were subjected to the fume generated from the burnt bangbangsit katol.
Katol Preparation: Pulverized leaves and flowers of L. camara were mixed with corn starch.Corn starch served as the binder.The mixture was placed in a molder and baked in a microwave oven for 5 minutes.
Katol Efficacy Test: Ten mosquitoes were housed in a chamber and subjected with the fume of the developed bangbangsit katol.Number of dead mosquitoes was recorded at the end of five minutes exposure.Time of death (in seconds) was also recorded.Data were treated with ANOVA and Tukey simultaneous comparison.

Table 1. Number of Dead Mosquitoes Treated with Bangbangsit Katol 1
The number of dead mosquitoes in each treatment condition suggests that both leaves and flowers of L. camara are potential repellents to mosquitoes.The foregoing findings add to the existing findings on the uses of L. camara.Chava and Nikam (2000) stressed that leaves of L. camara are of larvicidal activity.On the other hand, flower extracts present repellent activity against mosquitoes (Dua et al., 2003;Dua, et al., 2010).The toxicity of this plant is attributed to a series of pentacyclic triterpenes which lantadenes A and B are typical members (Sharma et al., 2000;Khajja et al., 2011).Results on the foregoing table suggest that both matured leaves and flowers of L. camara are of comparable efficiency on its repellent activities on mosquitoes.Lantanine, lancamarone, and lantadenes A and B, the offensive substances from L. camara, are known substances that attack and poison insect pests like mosquitoes (Begum et al., 2000;Sharma et al., 2000;Baidoo & Adam, 2010;Khajja et al., 2011).
Moreover, these findings contradict the findings of Chava and Nikam (2000), Dua et al. (2003), andDua, et al. (2010).Chava and Nikam (2000) stressed that leaves of L. camara contain larvicidal activity.On the other hand, flower extracts present repellent activity (Dua et al., 2003;Dua, et al., 2010).Hence, it can be said that matured leaves also contain repellent activities aside from its known larvicidal activities.

Conclusion and Future Works
Bangbangsit (L.camara) contains repellent activities aside from its known larvicidal activities.Offensive substances, like lantanine, lancamarone, and lantadenes A and B are found in the leaves and flowers of L. camara.These attack and poison insect pests like mosquitoes which can lead to their death.Therefore, bangbangsit katol (L.camara) is potential in treating deleterious mosquitoes.
The bangbangsit katol developed in this study may be optimized so it can be commercialized.Its commercialization is highly wanting as it is organic and it does not pose any harmful effect in the atmosphere unlike the synthetic mosquito repellents and sprays available in the market.

Table 2 .
Average Time of Death of Mosquitoes Treated with Bangbangsit Katol 1

-value: 12.74; p-value=.0024
1means of the same letter found in row are comparable at .05 level of significance 1