Toxicological Effects of Medicinal Plants for Controlling the Giant African Snail (Achatina fulica)
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Abstract
The Giant African Snail (GAS, Lissachatina fulica) is a plant pest that damages various economic crops. This study evaluated the molluscicidal efficacy of nine medicinal plant derivatives against GAS under controlled laboratory conditions. The tested materials included: tea seed cake (Camellia oleifera), ground coffee (Coffea spp.), soap berry (Sapindus rarak), neem seed (Azadirachta indica), Indian laurel leaf (Litsea glutinosa), soap pod (Acacia concinna), physic nut seed (Jatropha curcas), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), and licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra). A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was employed to assess two application methods: dry powdered formulations and 10% (w/v) ethanol extracts. After a 48-hour exposure period, soap berry exhibited the highest mortality rates, achieving 73.33 %
(powder) and 80 % (extract). However, these values did not differ significantly (p>0.05) from the efficacy of tea seed cake (70 % powder, 76.67 % extract) or tobacco (70 % for both formulations). In contrast, no significant molluscicidal activity was detected in the negative control, ground coffee, or physic nut seed treatments. These results demonstrate that soap berry, tea seed cake, and tobacco exhibit promising molluscicidal properties against GAS, suggesting their potential as eco-friendly alternatives for integrated pest management (IPM) strategies.
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