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JOURNAL OF MOSQUITO RESEARCH
99
Figure 1 Repellency effect of plant leaves against mosquitoes
Phytochemicals obtained from plants with proven
mosquito control potential can be used as an
alternative to synthetic potential insecticides or along
with other insecticides under the integrated vector
control.
Repellents have an important place in protecting man
from the bites of insect pests. An effective repellent
will be useful in reducing man vector contact and in
the interruption of disease transmission. Mosquito
repellents may be one of the most effective tools for
protecting human from vector-borne diseases and
nuisance caused by mosquitoes (Curtis et al., 1990;
Barnard, 2000). Repellent compounds should be non
toxic, non irritating and long lasting (Kalyana-
sundaram and Babu, 1982). Repellents are substances
that act locally or at a distance, deterring an arthropod
(insect/mosquito) from flying to, landing on or biting
human or animal skin (Blackwell et al., 2003;
Choochote et al., 2007). Usually, insect repellents work
by providing a vapour barrier deterring the arthropod
(insect/mosquito) from coming into contact with the
surface (Brown and Hebert, 1997) and sometimes,
applied on to the skin for protection. Repellents of plant
origin do not pose hazards of toxicity to humans and
domestic animals and are easily biodegradable. Natural
products are safe for humans when compared to that of
synthetic compounds (Sharma et al., 1993; Ansari and
Razdan, 1996). Repellents are used as personal
protection methods against biting arthropods with a
major aim of avoiding nuisance (Trigg and Hill, 1996).
Repellents properly utilized are an inexpensive means
of reducing or preventing arthropod-borne diseases
and biting nuisance while acting as a wide range of
vectors (Gupta and Rutledge, 1994).
Smoke is still, the most widely used common method
of repelling biting insects that is used throughout the
world. Fresh and dried plants are frequently added to
fires to enhance the repellent properties of the smoke
(Roemantyo, 1990). Several field evaluations, where
plants were burned to repel mosquitoes, have shown
good reduction in mosquito landings (Palsson and
Jaenson, 1999a,b). Most households in the developing
world rely on personal protection measures of limited
effectiveness, such as burning mosquito coils or leaves
(Hanson et al., 2003). Mosquito coils were traditionally
made
with
finely
ground
Chrysanthemum
cinrariaefolium
flowers mixed with coconut husks or
sawdust (Chadwick, 1985) and also neem kernels and
leaves are burned to repel mosquitoes along with
mosquito coils (Konradsen et al., 1997). Plants of
terrestrial origin have also been reported to be a
source of mosquito repellents (Hwang et al., 1985;