Development of a Bioassay For Determination Of Insecticidal Activity

Abstract.  A rapidly developing field in the world today is pest control. As the world's population increases, the need for more effective pesticides and insecticides increases. Of the many insecticides available, many are petroleum based, non-biodegradable and ecologically harmful. Natural products chemistry has been helpful in finding environmentally friendly and biodegradable insecticides.
    Allelochemicals, which are secondary plant products, have been looked at in the hope of finding new natural insecticides. The need for inexpensive, rapid, and general bioassays which can detect over a broad range of biological activities in higher plants is great. The Brine Shrimp Bioassay has been developed in the hpe of speeding along the process of plant screening for biological activities. The bioassay measures lethality of Brine Shrimp when exposed to minute amounts of plant extracts 5 uL, 50 uL, 500 uL. The survivors are counted after 24 hours. This research focused on getting the Brine Shrimpl Bioassay to work at Warren Wilson College, as well as to compare it to a previously used bioassay, Cosquito Larvae. The Brine Shrimp Bioassay was found to be able to be reproduced at Warren Wilson but with results differing from the Mosquito Larvae Bioassay. It was found that some of the Mosquito Larvae Bioassay results could be reproduced, but not all of them.