Larvicidal activity of liverworts’ (Marchantia paleacea) ethyl acetate fraction against Athalia proxima

Abstract

Abstract Indonesia is an agrarian country with extensive agricultural land and a variety of crop types. One of the challenges faced by farmers when cultivating crops is pest infestation. The larval stage of Athalia proxima attacks cruciferous plants, leading to a 65-80% decrease in productivity. Continuous use of synthetic larvicides has negative impacts such as pest resistance, harm to natural plant enemies, and environmental pollution. This research aims to investigate the larvicidal activity of the ethyl acetate fraction of ethanol extract from liverworts (Marchantia paleacea) against A. proxima. The stages of compound isolation included extraction and fractionation. Compound groups in the fraction were identified through phytochemical screening. The larvicidal activity testing method used was the spray method. The concentrations of liverwort ethyl acetate fraction used were 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 1%. Distilled water was used as a negative control. Larval mortality was observed 24 hours after application and analyzed using probit analysis to determine the LC50 value. Phytochemical screening results indicated that the ethyl acetate fraction tested positive for alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, terpenoids, and steroids. The LC50 value of the ethyl acetate fraction of the ethanol extract from M. paleacea was 0.33%. Therefore, the ethyl acetate fraction of M. paleacea exhibited high larvicidal activity against A. proxima.