Ligusticum sinense Nanoemulsion Gel as Potential Repellent against Aedes aegypti Anopheles minimus and Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae)

摘要

Mosquito vectors can transmit diverse infectious pathogens and parasites that cause diseases such as dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, West Nile fever, and malaria. Botanical-derived repellents have been applied for personal protection against various species of mosquito vectors. In Thailand, numerous plant extracts have so far been investigated for mosquito repellent activity. Recently, Ligusticum sinense hexane extract (LHE) was reported as a potential candidate for the development of a new natural alternative to standard synthetic repellent. This study formulated LHE into nanoemulsion gel (LHE-NEG) and investigated its repellent activity against three mosquito vectors, including Aedes aegypti, Anopheles minimus, and Culex quinquefasciatus. The results revealed that LHE-NEG provided comparable protection times to N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide nanoemulsion gel (DEET-NEG) against all mosquito species. Furthermore, LHE-NEG is safe for human health, based on the results of the skin irritation test. The repellent activity obtained from stored samples of LHE-NEG yielded satisfactory protection times of more than 2 h. Therefore, this gel formulation could be developed commercially, as an effective personal protection product against mosquito bites.