Utilization of Marigold Extract as Household Insecticide

UTILIZATION OF MARIGOLD EXTRACT (Tagestes erecta L. ) AND CIGARETTE BUTTS AS HOUSEHOLD INSECTICIDE INTRODUCTION Most insecticides effective for household use are inorganic which tend to be harmful to the user and to the environment. Recent statistics show that 75% of households use some form of insecticide, with much of this being used indoors. They are used to kill ants and roaches, mosquitoes, flea and tick. By design these products are all intended to be lethal – to insects that is! People can be affected to some degree as all. Thus, this study aimed to develop an alternative household insecticide utilizing the Extract from Marigold Plant (Tagetes erecta L. ) and recycled cigarette butts as highly economic, environmentally safe and user friendly insecticide preparation with no cost. Marigold Plant is said to contain an active ingredient, phototoxin Alpha-terthienyl which functions as a nematicide. It is more effective when it is being exposed to sunlight since it generates its phototoxin which makes an interesting natural insecticide. Statement of the Problem: This study aims to investigate the feasibility of Marigold Extract as an alternative household insecticide. Specifically the study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What are the active chemical components found on Marigold Extract making it ideal as an insecticide alternative? 2. Is there a significant difference on the effect of different Marigold Extract Concentrations on the mortality rate of the insects? 3. Is the use of Marigold Extract feasible as a household insecticide? Significance of the Study The quality of the environment in which people work, live or play, the health of individuals, the quality of certain goods such as food products can all be affected by insects of different kinds. From time to time, it happens that new kinds of diseases even appear in our environment which are spread around by insects imported from remote areas together with goods. Insecticides can help to address these cases of emergencies. This study aimed to develop an alternative household insecticide utilizing the Extract from Marigold Plant (Tagetes erecta L. ) and recycled cigarette butts as highly economic, environmentally safe and user friendly insecticide preparation with no cost. The result of the study is expected to give information and knowledge to widely addressed the growing demand of ridding these irritating insects out of our sights at the expense of those materials that we could actually found inside our household. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS Cigarette butts – are the residue bottom part of a cigarette containing alkaloid nicotine. Extract – obtain something from source: to obtain something from a source, usually by separating it out from other material Insects – are a  class  of living creatures that have a  three-part body three pairs of jointed   and two  antennae. Just like mosquitoes, cockroaches, tick, fleas. Insecticides- An  insecticide  is a  pesticide  used against  insects. They include ovicides and  larvicides  used against the  eggs  and  larvae  of insects respectively. Marigold – is an erect, smooth, branched, rank-smelling herb, o. 3 to 0. 8 meters high. Leaves are 4 to 7 cm long, deeply pinnatifid with linear-lanceolate segments. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Marigold (Tagetes erecta L. ) is an erect, smooth, branched, rank-smelling herb, o. 3 to 0. 8 meters high. Leaves are 4 to 7 cm long, deeply pinnatifid with linear-lanceolate segments. Heads are solitary, 1. 5 to 2 cm in diameter, borne on long peduncles, which are thickened upward. Flowers are pale to deep yellow, sometimes red. Flowers yield a yellow crystalline substance, quercetagetine. The dye was found several shades browner than quercetin. (http://www. primaryinfo. com/industry/tagetes-oil. htm) Marigold Plant is said to contain an active ingredient, phototoxin Alpha-terthienyl which functions as a nematicide. It is more effective when it is being exposed to sunlight since it generates its phototoxin which makes an interesting natural insecticide. Study of roots, leaves and flowers yielded thiophenes, steroidal and terpenoidal type constituents. And these secretions coming from the extracted part provides an insecticidal effect on the soil, against nematodes and keeled slugs and insects. (http://www. homeremedycentral. com) While marigolds (Tagetes species) are typically grown for ornamental purposes as bedding plants, studies have found that they can be highly toxic to plant-parasitic nematodes and are capable of suppressing a wide range (up to 14 genera) of nematode pests. Marigold plants produce a number of potentially bioactive compounds, among which ? therthienyl is recognized as one of the most toxic. This sulfur-containing compound is abundant in marigold tissues, including roots. It has nematicidal, insecticidal, fungicidal, antiviral, and cytotoxic activities, and it is believed to be the main compound responsible for the nematicidal activity of marigold. (Topp, E. , S. Miller, H. Bork, and M. Welsh. 1998. ) The contr ol of insect populations  is the reason for the use of insecticides. The suffix ‘-cide' refers to killing. The term may refer to sprays that are chemical, homemade, or organic. The more powerful insecticides have the capability of almost totally eliminating an insect population from a specified area. The less powerful may require several appliations before the desired effects become obvious. (http://wiki. answers. com) METHODOLOGY Inventions have evolved and continue to evolve such that after several years of study, research and experimentation reach great developments. With continuing efforts to investigate the constituents of Philippine plants, we have pursued investigation of the feasibility of Marigold Extract as an ideal component for a household insecticide. Marigold plant parts (Flowers and leaves) were gathered, ground and squeezed and extracted. Extracting the Plant and Cigarette Butts 1. Gather  and collect 3 partitions of (75 grams, 50 grams and 25 grams) of Marigold Plants and leaves. 2. Wash the parts and pound separately with the use of mortar and pestle. 3. Placed the pounded parts into a cheesecloth to squeezed the extract. 4. Gather three, 25 grams of cigarette butts. Remove the cigarette wrappers to expose the tobacco. 5. Pound the tobacco to fine powder using mortar and pestle. 6. Passed the powdered tobacco through a mesh sieve. Preparing the Insecticide Concentrations For Set-up 1: 1. Combined the 75 grams extracted Marigold Plant with 25 grams pounded tobacco from cigarette butts. 2. Add 100 ml of water and 1. 5 grams of detergent powder as surface active agent. 3. Filter the mixture with a cheesecloth. 4. Label the product and let it stay for 2 hours before using. For Set-up 2: 1. Combined 50 grams of extracted Marigold Plant with 25 gram pounded cigarette butts. 2. Do the same procedure with that of Set-up 1. For Set-up 3: 1. Combined 25 grams of Extracted Marigold Plant with 25 gram pounded cigarette butts. . Do the same procedure with that of the 2 Set-ups. 3. Label the product and ready for use as an insecticide spray. Statistical Tools Used After the data were all gathered, it was tabulated and interpreted using the following statistical tools. A. Percentage – is used in ranking the mortality rate of each sample insects using the different set-ups. X where x= mortality rate % = n (100) n = tot al number of observation B. Mean is used to determine whether there exists significant relationship among the variables. fo where fo = total number of observed samples x= n n = no. of set-ups RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This chapter presents the results, analyzes and interprets the findings in accordance with the specific problems of the study. The main concern of the study is to determine the feasibility of Marigold Extract as an active component for household insecticide. Table 1. Effect of Marigold Concentrations on the Mortality of Insects |Set-ups |No. of Mosquitoes |Percentage (%) |No. of Cockroaches |Percentage (%) | |. 10 |100 |10 |100 | |Set-up 1 | | | | | |Set-up 2 |8 |80 |7 |70 | |Set-up 3 |8 |80 |6 | 60 | |Total |26 |87% |23 |77% | |Mean |8. 7 | |7. 66 | | Based on the table above, results showed that Set-up 1 got the highest mortality rate in both Mosquito and Cockroaches Sample. Out of 10 Mosquitoes and Cockroaches, Set-up 1 got a 100% mortality rate. It was then followed b y the concentration of Set-up 2 with 80% mortality rate for mosquito samples and 70% for cockroaches. Lastly Set-up 3 got 80% mortality rate for mosquito sample and 60% for cockroaches sample respectively. Table 2. The Frequency of Spray Concentration on Mortality of Insects |Set-ups |Frequency of Spray | | |Mosquito |Cockroach | |Set-up 1 |6 |10 | |Set-up 2 |9 |12 | |Set-up 3 |12 |15 | |Mean |9 |12. 33 | Table 2 shows the Frequency of Spray for each Set-up concentrations towards mortality of insect samples. Set-up 1 got the least number of sprays required for the insect to totally rid. Followed by Set-up 2 and Set-up 3 respectively. The three Set-ups got a Mean of 9 sprays for Mosquito samples and 12 sprays for Cockroach samples. FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This chapter presents the summary of the findings of the study regarding the feasibility of Marigold Extract and Cigarette butts as Household Insecticide. Conclusions drawn from the results gathered as well as the possible recommendation of researchers are presented in this chapter. Summary of Findings Results of the study revealed the following findings: 1. Among the three set-ups being introduced, Set-up 1 (75 g Marigold Extract Concentration) got the highest mortality rate among insect samples. Out of 10 insect samples, Set-up 1 got 100% mortality rate. 2. Among the three set-ups, Set-up 1 (w/ 75 g Marigold Extract) got the least number of frequency needed in spraying the insects to totally rid them. Conclusions: Based from the summary of findings, the following conclusions were drawn: 1. The greater is the concentration of Marigold Extract, the greater also is the mortality rate of the insect samples. 2. The greater is the concentration of Marigold Extract, the least number of spray is needed to totally rid those insect samples. 3. There is a significant difference between the concentration of Marigold extract and its effect towards the Mortality rate of insects. 4. Marigold Extract can be utilized as an active component for an alternative household insecticide. Although its shelf life is short. The formulations lasted five days before molds were observed. Recommendations: 1. Future studies will be conducted to enhance or lengthen the utilization period (expiry period) of the insecticide. 2. Another active ingredients can be added to the mixture to enhance its feasibility as household insecticide. 3. Essential Oils can be added to avoid the stingy-irritating odor of insecticide. BIBLIOGRAPHY Leopold, A. Carl. (1994). Plant Growth and Development: Pest Control. USA:McGraw Hill Inc. pp 327-336. Topp, E. , S. Miller, H. Bork, and M. Welsh. (1998. ) Botany: Wonders of Marigold. New York: Harper and Row, Publishing Inc. pp. 301 – 315. Miller, H. Bork, and M. Welsh. 1998. Effects of marigold (Tagetes sp. ) roots on soil Microorganisms. Biology and Fertility of Soils 27: 149–154 http://www. primaryinfo. com/industry/tagetes-oil. htm http://www. homeremedycentral. com http://wiki. answers. com