Development of a larvicide nanoemulsion (O/W) of Cinnamomum zeylanicum essential oil against Aedes aegypti

Arboviruses arouse the interest of public authorities because they present different diseases such as Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya and Yellow Fever, and one of the ways to fight them is larvicidal action. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the chemical profile and larvicidal activity of essential oil and nanoemulsions (O/W) of Cinnamomum zeylanicum against Aedes aegypti. In the present study, the plant material was obtained in the city of São Luís (MA) and the essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation in a modified Clevenger extraction system. The nanoemulsions were formulated by the low-energy phase inversion method. The chemical profile was evaluated by the total phenolic content. Antioxidant activity was performed by the hydroxyl radical decolorization method. The anti-inflammatory action was evaluated by the protein albumin denaturation method. The larvicidal activity was evaluated by the lethality bioassay against Aedes aegypti. Total phenolics were quantified at 118.66 mg EAT g-1, being important predictors of pharmacological activities. Positive results were observed in the antioxidant activity of essential oil and nanoemulsion, which resulted in EC50 of 80.27 mg L-1 and 166.42 mg L-1, respectively, being classified as active potential. For the anti-inflammatory activity of nanoemulsion and essential oil resulted in EC50 42.21 mg L-1 and 225.13 mg L-1. The larvicidal activity showed promising results where the LC50 in 22.01 mg L-1 of the essential oil and LC50 in 5.30 mg L-1 of the nanoemulsion, bringing unprecedented and expressive results for the nanoemulsion. Finally, the observed results guarantee the effectiveness of the Aedes aegypti arbovirus vector.