Need to go natural, mosquitoes resistant to artificial repellents

HYDERABAD: With various species of disease-spreading mosquitoes developing resistance to synthetic chemicals present in

mosquito

repellents, city researchers have turned their focus to natural repellents like neem and camphor.


They also suggest growing of plants like lemon grass, citronella, nepenthes, artemisia, Origanum, Tulasi, rosemary and mint to repel mosquitoes, particularly those belonging to the genera Anopheles, Aedes and Culex. Incidentally,

Anopheles

leads the mosquito population in Hyderabad followed by Aedes and Culex. While the female species of Anopheles transmit

malaria

, Aedes is responsible for the spread of dengue and chikungunya. Culex carries the filarial worm.

A team from CMR College of Pharmacy, Hyderabad, conducted tests against various species of mosquitoes using extracts from neem and camphor. They found that the combination of neem oil and camphor is effective against mosquitoes. It worked against different species of Aedes mosquito too. The result was published in the recent issue of the Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry.

Essential oils obtained from a variety of aromatic and medicinal plants have been found to be effective against mosquitoes. The age-old humble mosquito net, however, is the best bet without any side effects. City researchers have found that essential oils obtained from plants like

eucalyptus

, thyme, catnip, cinnamon, basil, different types of Tulasi, African marigold, geranium, garlic creeper, ruta, and sage show strong mosquito repellent properties.Most of the synthetic mosquito repellents that contain harmful chemicals like allethrin, diethyltoluamide and dimethyl phthalate no longer work against mosquitoes. Moreover, they are harmful to human beings and environment too. Apart from malaria, filaria, dengue and chikungunya, mosquitoes also spread zika and Japanese encephalitis (JE).

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