Mosquito repellent from Thai essential oils against dengue fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti (L.)) and filarial mosquito vector (Culex quinquefasciatus (Say))

Abstract

Repellent activity of Thai essential oils derived from ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata), lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) and citronella grass (Cymbopogon nardus) were evaluated against female Aedes aegypti (L.) and Culex quinquefasciatus (Say) and compared a commercially available repellents (IR3535, ethyl butylacetylamino propionate 12.5% w/w; Johnson’s Baby Clear Lotion Anti-Mosquito®). Each test repellent was applied at 0.17 and 0.33 µl/cm2 on the forearm of volunteers. All essential oils at 0.17 µl/cm2 showed lower protection time and percentage of protection against two mosquito species than at 0.33 µl/cm2. All essential oils exhibited higher repellent activity than chemical repellent. The essential oil of C. citratus at 0.33µl/cm2 exhibited excellent repellent activity with 98.67% protection from bites of A. aegypti for 116.67±55.75 min and 99.75% protection from bites of C. quinquefasciatus for 128.33±12.89 min. However, repellent activity in order of protection time and percentage of protection against two mosquito species in three essential oils was C. citratus oil >C. odorata oil >C. nardus oil. Our data showed that C. citratus oil is an effected green repellent for mosquitoes that is safe for humans and environmentally friendly.   Key words: Repellent, Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, Thai essential oil.