Apiwat Tawatsin¹
Usavadee Thavara¹
Jaree Bansiddhi²
Prapai Wongsinkongman²
Thidarat Boonruad²
Narumon Komalamisra³
Mir S. Mulla⁴

Affilications :
      ¹ National Institute of Health, ² Medicinal Plant Research Institute,
Department of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand,
      ³ Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
      ⁴Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA

Source:
      Oral Presentation at ICE 2004 ในการประชุม The XXII international Congress of Entomology ,,14 -22 สิงหาคม 2547 ประเทศออสเตรเลีย

Language :
      English

Abstract :
       Mosquito-borne diseases, such as Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, malaria and filariasis are serious public health problems in many countries, especially in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. These diseases are caused by pathogens that are transmitted to man through mosquito biting only. Since there is no effective vaccine available for prevention of the diseases, personal protection from mosquito bites is then considered as one of the strategies to prevent them. The widespread use of synthetic chemical repellents has been hindered by a growing concern about possible adverse effects on the users. Efforts to develop alternatives to these synthetic chemicals have been increasingly considered, including extracting and evaluating plant products for repellent activity. The development and use of locally available plant products showing repellent activity thus avails an alternative strategy for prevention of mosquito-borne diseases. In this study we evaluated and reported repellent effects of essential oils extracted from plants against 4 mosquito vectors: Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Anopheles dirus  and Culex quinquefasciatus  under laboratory conditions using human volunteers. The essential oils were extracted from various parts of 22 plant species, belonging to 10 families, and the oils were then prepared as 10% solution in absolute ethanol and some additives. The essential oils showing high degree of repellency were subsequently formulated as topical repellents and tested against day- and night-biting mosquitoes under field conditions. The results obtained from both laboratory and field evaluations will be presented and discussed.