title: Assessing the efficacy of candidate mosquito repellents against the background of an attractive source that mimics a human host.
abstract: Mosquito repellents are used around the globe to protect against nuisance biting and disease-transmitting mosquitoes. Recently, there has been renewed interest in the development of repellents as tools to control the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. We present a new bioassay for the accurate assessment of candidate repellent compounds, using a synthetic odour that mimics the odour blend released by human skin. Using DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) and PMD (p-menthane-3,8-diol) as reference compounds, nine candidate repellents were tested, of which five showed significant repellency to the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto (Diptera: Culicidae). These included: 2-nonanone; 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one; linalool; δ-decalactone, and δ-undecalactone. The lactones were also tested on the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti (Stegomyia aegypti) (Diptera: Culicidae), against which they showed similar degrees of repellency. We conclude that the lactones are highly promising repellents, particularly because these compounds are pleasant-smelling, natural products that are also present in human food sources.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Menger
authors.forename: J J A
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Van Loon
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Takken
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009812:Odorants
chemical_list: D007302:Insect Repellents
keywords: Aedes aegypti (Stegomyia aegypti); Anopheles gambiae; behaviour; bioassay; repellent; semiochemical