Toxicology of a potential molluscicide derived from the plant Brucea javanica.

This study aims to determine the lethal concentration (LC50) of Brucea javanica extract against freshwater snail Oncomelania hupensis lindoensis and to estimate the toxicity effect on Aplocheilus armatus. A potential molluscicidal extract, used as B. javanica, widely found in Central Sulawesi, especially in the endemic region of Schistosomiasis, was tested for toxicity against snail and fish in static acute-toxicity tests. The results showed that the extract significantly affected the O. h. lindoensis snail, which is an intermediate vector of Schistosomiasis in Indonesia. The minimum dose that produced 100% of snail mortality exposed for 72 hours, 3.20 mg/liter, was significantly lower than the threshold of 100 mg/liter, set for potential molluscicides by the World Health Organization. In contrast, the minimum concentration which produced 100% mortality in A. armatus fish was 25.60 mg/liter indicating that the extract is safe for other aquatic biotas such as fish. Therefore, plant-derived molluscicide has great potential which also requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]