Success is sweeter when it’s shared. And let’s be honest—having a research paper published in one of the world’s top 25% journals is pretty sweet indeed.
Nine of our students, alumni, and academics shared that honour when their study on a natural bio-larvicide against the deadly Aedes mosquito was published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) One journal—which is listed in the top category of the most impactful journals worldwide.
Titled “Analysis of chemical compositions and larvicidal activity of nut extracts from Areca catechu Linn against Aedes (Diptera: Culicidae)”, the study saw a collaboration between the Faculty of Integrated Life Sciences (FILS), the Faculty of Pharmacy (FOP), and the Faculty of Medicine (FOM).
Academics from Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan were also involved in the research.
Corresponding and principal investigator Dr Rajiv Ravi said there was a growing need to use green alternative larvicidal control for Aedes larvae instead of chemical insecticides.
“A substantial reliance on chemical insecticides causes insecticide resistance in mosquito populations. Thus, research for alternate chemical compounds from natural products is necessary to control Aedes larvae,” he said.
“Our study showed significant outcomes from the extract of the Areca catechu nut. It may have some interesting potential to be developed as a natural bio-larvicidal product.”
The nine QIU collaborators who joined in this research include:
Students
- Madhuri Bharathithasan (Master of Science)
- Darvin R. Ravindran (Alumni–Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences)
- Sim Ka Chun (Alumni–Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biotechnology)
Academics
- Prof. Dr Syed Atif Abbas (Deputy Dean and Professor – Faculty of Pharmacy)
- Prof. Dr Sandheep Sugathan (Professor in Community Medicine – Faculty of Medicine)
- Prof. Abd. Rahman Md. Said (Professor – Faculty of Medicine)
- Assoc. Prof. Dr Vijay Kotra (Programme Coordinator and Acting Head, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, – Faculty of Pharmacy)
- Prof. Datuk Dr Allan Mathews (Dean and Professor – Faculty of Pharmacy)
- Ts. Dr Rajiv Ravi(Lecturer – School of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Integrated Life Sciences)
Dr Rajiv said the PLOS ONE platform had published more than 200,000 articles in 219 research areas since 2004. He noted that they evaluated research on scientific validity, strong methodology and high ethical standards with not perceived significance as a based quality selection.
“A huge thank you to the research team and the University for all their help and cooperation for this project.” he added.
Congratulations to the team for their remarkable work! We can’t wait to see how the project will benefit people in the future!
