Synthesis and Larvicidal Activity of of α,β-Unsaturaded δ- Lactones against Aedes aegypti

Mosquitoes pose the greatest threat to public health because of their ability to act as vectors of pathogens causing malaria, dengue, yellow fever, encephalitis and filariasis, which affect many millions of people all around the world. Of particular interest, Aedes aegypti is the vector for the arboviruses responsible for yellow fever and dengue fever, present in more than one hundred countries which threatens the health of approximately 2.5 billion people. Worldwide, around 80 million people are infected each year. Substituted α,β-unsaturatedd δ-lactones units are present in a large number of compounds isolated from plants and marine organisms. Representative examples are goniothalamin, and massoialactone (Fig. 1).