Abstract
When used at low concentrations and added to the water body, water-soluble chlorophyllin (resulting from chlorophyll after removal of the phytol) and pheophorbid (produced from chlorophyllin by acidification) are able to kill mosquito larvae and other small animals within a few hours under exposure of solar radiation. Under laboratory conditions, the use of chlorophyllin/pheophorbid as photodynamic substances for pest control in water bodies promises to be not only effective and ecologically beneficial but also cheap. The LD50 (50% of mortality in the tested organisms) value in Culex sp. larvae was about 6.88 mg/l, in Chaoborus sp. larvae about 24.18 mg/l, and in Daphnia 0.55 mg/l. The LD50 values determined for pheophorbid were 8.44 mg/l in Culex, 1.05 mg/l in Chaoborus, and 0.45 mg/l in Daphnia, respectively. In some cases, chlorophyllin and pheophorbid were also found to be (less) active in darkness. The results presented in this paper show that chlorophyllin is about a factor of 100 more effective than methylene blue or hematoporphyrine, which were tested earlier for the same purpose. It is also much cheaper and, as a substance found in every green plant, it is 100% biodegradable.
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Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the friendly and competent support of Dr. Martin Oberle and his team, LfL Fischerei Höchstadt, who provided the carps and supported this work with valuable ideas and fruitful discussions. All performed experiments comply with the current laws in Germany.
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Wohllebe, S., Richter, R., Richter, P. et al. Photodynamic control of human pathogenic parasites in aquatic ecosystems using chlorophyllin and pheophorbid as photodynamic substances. Parasitol Res 104, 593–600 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1235-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1235-6