Acaricidal activity of petroleum ether extract of neem (Azadirachta indica) oil and its four fractions separated by column chromatography against Sarcoptes scabiei var. cuniculi larvae in vitro.

The petroleum ether extract of neem oil and its four fractions separated by column chromatography was diluted at different concentrations with liquid paraffin. The acaricidal bioassay was conducted using a dipping method. The results indicated that the median lethal concentration (LC50) of the petroleum ether extract (at the concentration of 500.0ml/l) was 70.9ml/l, 24h after treatment. At concentrations of 500.0, 250.0, 125.0, 62.5 and 31.2ml/l, the median lethal times (LT50) of the petroleum ether extract were 8.7, 8.8, 10.8, 11.5 and 13.1h, respectively. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) showed that the petroleum ether extract of neem oil separated into four fractions (F1-F4). Acaricidal activity of 68.3% and 100.0% in the F2 and F4 was confirmed. These results suggest that petroleum ether extracts of neem oil and its four fractions possess useful acaricidal activity in vitro.