Monoterpenes from thyme (Thymus vulgaris) as potential mosquito repellents.
Five monoterpenes (carvacrol, p-cymene, linalool, alpha-terpinene, and thymol) derived from the essential oil of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) were examined for their repellency against the mosquito Culex pipiens pallens. All 5 monoterpenes effectively repelled mosquitoes based on a human forearm bioassay. Alpha-terpinene and carvacrol showed significantly greater repellency than a commercial formulation, N,N-diethyl-m-methylbenzamide (deet), whereas thymol showed similar repellency to that of deet. The duration of repellency after application for all these monoterpenes was equal to or higher than that of deet. These findings indicate that a spray-type solution containing 2% alpha-terpinene may serve as an alternative mosquito repellent.
Park
Byeoung-Soo
BS
School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Suwon 441-744, Korea.
Choi
Won-Sik
WS
Kim
Jeong-Han
JH
Kim
Kap-Ho
KH
Lee
Sung-Eun
SE
D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D000818:Animals; D003465:Culex; D000081005:Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; D000081007:Cymenes; D003671:DEET; D006801:Humans; D007302:Insect Repellents; D039821:Monoterpenes; D010938:Plant Oils; D013943:Thymol; D046930:Thymus Plant
D000080462:Acyclic Monoterpenes; D000081005:Cyclohexane Monoterpenes; D000081007:Cymenes; D007302:Insect Repellents; D039821:Monoterpenes; D010938:Plant Oils; D003671:DEET; C007210:4-cymene; D013943:Thymol; C018669:gamma-terpinene; C073316:carvacrol; C018584:linalool