COMPARATIVE ACARICIDAL ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS AND ETHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AGAINST THE MITE PSOROPTES CUNICULI

Abstract

Psoroptes cuniculi is one of the most widespread causative agents of psoroptic mange in rabbits, causing significant economic losses in rabbit breeding. Given the increasing need for environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic acaricides, the investigation of acaricidal properties of medicinal plants represents a promising research direction. The aim of the present study was to conduct a comparative evaluation of the acaricidal activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of medicinal plants against Psoroptes cuniculi mites under laboratory conditions.

The study objects included extracts of Mentha piperita, Origanum vulgare L., Thymus vulgaris, Ferula foetida, Cinnamomum cassia (L.) D.Don, Curcuma phaeocaulis Valeton, and Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb. at concentrations of 200, 500, and 1000 µl/ml. A 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution was used as a negative control, while permethrin at concentrations of 1, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 µl/ml served as a positive control. Acaricidal activity was assessed by mite mortality rates. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test.

It was established that the extraction method significantly influenced the efficacy of the preparations. Overall, ethanolic extracts induced significantly higher mite mortality compared to aqueous extracts (30.33% and 19.70%, respectively; P < 0.01). The most pronounced acaricidal activity was demonstrated by the ethanolic extract of Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb., which achieved 100% mite mortality at a concentration of 1000 µL/mL, whereas the aqueous extract caused only 28% mortality. High efficacy was also shown by ethanolic extracts of Cinnamomum cassia (69%) and Curcuma phaeocaulis (48%) at the maximum concentration. Extracts of Mentha piperita, Origanum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris, and Ferula foetida were characterized by considerably lower acaricidal activity.

The obtained results indicate the high potential of ethanolic extracts of Eugenia caryophyllata, Cinnamomum cassia, and Curcuma phaeocaulis as sources of natural acaricidal compounds for the development of alternative control agents against Psoroptes cuniculi. Further in vivo studies are required to confirm their practical efficacy, focusing on therapeutic effectiveness and safety of application.