Volume 6, Spring 2008 - Saddleback College

Fall 2007 Biology 3A Abstracts
27. THE EFFICACY OF GARLIC (ALLIUM SATIVUM ) AS A BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF MOSQUITO
LARVA. Roky Coria. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, California
92692
Garlic (Allium sativum) has been cultivated by humans for thousands of years and has been valued by
many civilizations as an important spice with medicinal properties. Allium sativum has evolved a defense
mechanism to protect itself from bacteria, fungi, insects and other animals. These properties of A. sativum
suggest a potential application as an effective mosquito larvicide. The objective of this study was to
evaluate the rate of effectiveness of raw garlic against mosquito larva and compare this to the rate of
effectiveness of a commercial larvicide. Data was collected on the deaths per day of mosquito larva
exposed to a garlic solution, and mosquito larva exposed to commercial larvicide. Both garlic and the
commercial larvicide, MosquitoDunks®, were toxic to the mosquito larva. However, the mean number of
deaths per day in the larva exposed to garlic solution was significantly less than the number of deaths per
day in the group exposed to MosquitoDunks®. The results of the study indicate that the rate of
effectiveness of the garlic solution is not significant compared to the effectiveness of MosquitoDunks®
(p=.92409). The rate of effectiveness of the garlic solution would vary depending on the concentration
used. Therefore, further research on the effectiveness of garlic at different concentrations is necessary to
evaluate garlic’s larvicidal properties against mosquitoes.
28. EFFECTS OF AUDITORY AND CHEMICAL STIMULI IN MAMMALIAN MEMORY (Mus musculus).
John Lowd and Charles Steinfeld. Department of Biological Sciences, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo,
California 92692
Memory is increasingly vital to production and efficiency in today’s society. There are several over the
counter remedies for memory enhancement, we tested the product Leovit produced by Leovit Nutrio
(Russia). We also tested the effect of predatory stimuli on mouse memory. It was hypothesized that the
mean time to complete the maze for the mice treated with the Leovit memory enhancing supplement
would be significantly lower than for the group of mice that received no treatment. It was also
hypothesized that the group of mice that were exposed to Western Screech Owl (Megascops kennecotti)
calls would have a significantly higher mean time comparative to the control group receiving no treatment.
Mean time for the control mice to complete the maze was calculated (200.2 seconds ± 25.3 s.e.) After 5
days of treatment the mice treated with Leovit achieved a mean time (154.2 seconds ± 19.2 s.e.) this
difference was not considered statistically significant (p=0.141, two-tailed t-test assuming unequal
variance). After receiving treatment for ten days, the Leovit Group’s mean time (118.9 seconds ± 6.1 s.e.)
was considerably lower than the control group’s mean (159.7 seconds ± 13.2 s.e.). These values are
considered to be statistically significant (p=.006, two-tailed t-test assuming unequal variance). The mean
time for the group of mice receiving auditory stimuli for the 2 nd and 3 rd trials (206.8 seconds ± 21.6 s.e. &
182.4 seconds ± 11.7 s.e.) respectively, was higher than the control group’s mean, however, these values
were not considered statistically significant (p=1.8, two-tailed t-test assuming unequal variance for both
trials).
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Saddleback Journal of Biology
Spring 2008