Plant-based insect repellents: a review of their efficacy, development and testing

By M. Maia, S. Moore. Malaria Journal, 2011

706 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Plant-based repellents have been used for generations in traditional practice as a personal protection measure against host-seeking mosquitoes. Knowledge on traditional repellent plants obtained through ethnobotanical studies is a valuable resource for the development of new natural products. Recently, commercial repellent products containing plant-based ingredients have gained increasing popularity among consumers, as these are commonly perceived as “safe” in comparison to long-established synthetic repellents although this is sometimes a misconception. To date insufficient studies have followed standard WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme guidelines for repellent testing. There is a need for further standardized studies in order to better evaluate repellent compounds and develop new products that offer high repellency as well as good consumer safety. This paper presents a summary of recent information on testing, efficacy and safety of plant-based repellents as well as promising new developments in the field.

Subfields: Insect Science, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/433dd3b29ee68d29db3c482b4680a41c617a5e63

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Plant Science

1. N. Sadgrove
2. G. L. Jones
3. Y. Rajashekar
4. T. Shivanandappa
5. N. Bakthavatsalam

Citations in the corpus

• Impacts of Synthetic and Botanical Pesticides on Beneficial Insects (2016, background): “These include among others citronella, eucalyptus, garlic, pyrethrum and neem products [39].”
• Botanicals as Grain Protectants (2012, background): “Repellents from plant origins are considered safe in pest control; minimise pesticide residue; ensure safety of the people, food, and environment [1, 5, 99].”
• Targeted Delivery of Pesticides Using Biodegradable Polymeric Nanoparticles (2013, background): “Citronella oil extracted from Cymbopogon nardus (citronella) has been used as natural mosquito repellents (Maia and Moore 2011).”
• Essential Oils’ Chemical Characterization and Investigation of Some Biological Activities: A Critical Review (2016, background): “Essential oils belonging to plants in the citronella genus (Poaceae) are commonly used as ingredients of plant-based mosquito repellents, mainly Cymbopogon nardus, which is sold in Europe and North America in commercial preparations [117].”
• A Contemporary Introduction to Essential Oils: Chemistry, Bioactivity and Prospects for Australian Agriculture (2015, background): “An example of a well-known component from the aldehyde class is citronellal (16) from Eucalyptus citriodora Hook (Myrtaceae), which is used as an insect repellent with mosquitocidal activities [80].”