EFFETS BIOLOGIQUES D'EXTRAITS AQUEUX DE Peganum harmala (L.) (ZYGOPHYLLACEAE) SUR LA MORTALITÉ ET LE DÉVELOPPEMENT LARVAIRE DE Drosophila melanogaster (DIPTERA-DROSOPHILIDAE)

Abstract

The seeds of the Mediterranean plant Peganum harmala (Zygophyllacae) are known to contain a number of indolic alkaloids. In this work, the potential toxic effects of seed and leaf decoctions have been studied on the development and the mortality of the third instar larvae of fly Drosophila melanogaster. Our results show that an injective treatment provokes an important mortality of the larvae; 100% larval mortality could be obtained using the higher concentrations of the seed extracts. Additionally, our data reveal that the various chemical components contained in the seed or the leaf extracts have an important impact at the level of the final development of the flies.