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Comparative repellency of 38 essential oils against mosquito bites
Author(s) -
Trongtokit Yuwadee,
Rongsriyam Yupha,
Komalamisra Narumon,
Apiwathnasorn Chamnarn
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.1637
Subject(s) - aedes aegypti , culex quinquefasciatus , pogostemon , syzygium , traditional medicine , biology , toxicology , aedes , deet , veterinary medicine , mosquito control , botany , medicine , malaria , larva , immunology
The mosquito repellent activity of 38 essential oils from plants at three concentrations was screened against the mosquito Aedes aegypti under laboratory conditions using human subjects. On a volunteer's forearm, 0.1 mL of oil was applied per 30 cm 2 of exposed skin. When the tested oils were applied at a 10% or 50% concentration, none of them prevented mosquito bites for as long as 2 h, but the undiluted oils of Cymbopogon nardus (citronella), Pogostemon cablin (patchuli), Syzygium aromaticum (clove) and Zanthoxylum limonella (Thai name: makaen) were the most effective and provided 2 h of complete repellency. From these initial results, three concentrations (10%, 50% and undiluted) of citronella, patchouli, clove and makaen were selected for repellency tests against Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles dirus . As expected, the undiluted oil showed the highest protection in each case. Clove oil gave the longest duration of 100% repellency (2–4 h) against all three species of mosquito. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.