Pediculicidal Efficacy of Rice Straw (Oryza sativa L.) ash In Vitro

Abstract

In the Philippines, pediculosis was the second most common health problem of children aging 3-12 years old. Furthermore, some research found out that head lice are becoming more resistant to pediculicidal agents and are being questioned for their safety especially neuro-toxin based chemical agents like pyrethrin. Thus, this study aims to determine the pediculicidal effect of rice straw ash as an alternative against pediculosis. The pediculicidal effect of rice straw ash was tested via in-vitro using a post-test-only-control design. Head lice were grouped in a petri dish and applied with 3 drops of either 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% rice straw ash shampoo and the control Licealiz. The efficacy of rice straw ash was analyzed using the Likert’s scale and spearman’s correlation was used to determine to determine the correlation of the treatment concentrations and the time of application on head lice activity. Results shows that at 20 minutes, all the head louse had a score of 1, described as dead. Moreover, Spearman’s correlation shows that the longer the time of exposure, the lesser the vital signs. On the other hand, the higher the concentration, the more active the head lice. Thus, rice straw ash is an effective, low-cost and easily accessible alternative against head lice infestation.