Evaluation of selected South African ethnomedicinal plants as mosquito repellents against the <it>Anopheles arabiensis </it>mosquito in a rodent model

Abstract

Abstract Background This study was initiated to establish whether any South African ethnomedicinal plants (indigenous or exotic), that have been reported to be used traditionally to repel or kill mosquitoes, exhibit effective mosquito repellent properties. Methods Extracts of a selection of South African taxa were tested for repellency properties in an applicable mosquito feeding-probing assay using unfed female Anopheles arabiensis. Results Although a water extract of the roots of Chenopodium opulifolium was found to be 97% as effective as DEET after 2 mins, time lag studies revealed a substantial reduction in efficacy (to 30%) within two hours. Conclusions None of the plant extracts investigated exhibited residual repellencies >60% after three hours.