A double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of garlic as a mosquito repellant: a preliminary study.
The hypothesis that the ingestion of garlic provides protection against bloodsucking pests such as mosquitoes was investigated using a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study. Subjects were asked to consume either garlic (one visit) or a placebo (the other visit). They were then exposed to laboratory-reared Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Culicidae). The numbers of mosquitoes that did not feed on the subjects, the number of mosquito bites, the weights of the mosquitoes after feeding and the amounts of blood ingested were determined. The data did not provide evidence of significant systemic mosquito repellence. A limitation of the study is that more prolonged ingestion of garlic may be needed to accomplish repellence.
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Department of Pathology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030-3105, USA. rajan@neuron.uchc.edu
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D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005737:Garlic; D006801:Humans; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000494:pharmacology
D007302:Insect Repellents