Abstract:
This study was carried out to find out the effects of Tarchonanthus Camphoratus (Asteraceae), Acalypha
fruticosa (Fabacea) and Tagetes minuta (Asteraceae) crude extracts on the fecundity of P. duboscqi. The
extracts were prepared from the dried aerial parts of T. camphoratus, A. fruticosa, and T. minuta. Ten
female sand flies were aspirated into vials where they were fed on a mixture of the plant extracts and
sucrose solution prepared in a ratio of 1:1. These crude plant extracts were found to reduce the
fecundity of P. duboscqi significantly (P< 0.05). The extracts were found to reduce the fecundity of
P. duboscqi by 73% (A. fruticosa), 53% (T. minuta) and 26% (T. camphoratus) (P < 0.05). In conclusion,
the higher level of A. fruticosa, T. minuta and T. camphoratus activities would potentially reduce the
population of sand flies. This study has provided proof of the effects of these medicinal plants on the
vectorial capacity of sand flies.
