Planta Med 2011; 77 - PE52
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1282383

Composition of Artemisia abrotanum and A. pontica Essential Oils and Their Repellent Activity against Aedes aegypti

N Tabanca 1, B Demirci 2, EK Blythe 3, UR Bernier 4, A Ali 1, DE Wedge 5, IA Khan 6, KHC Başer 2, 7
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
  • 2Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, 26470 Eskişehir, Turkey
  • 3Coastal Research and Extension Center, Mississippi State University, South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station,
  • 4USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, FL 32608 USA
  • 5USDA-ARS Natural Products Utilization Research Unit, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
  • 6National Center for Natural Products Research, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA; Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA; Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, 11451 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 7Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, 11451 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, encephalitis, and Yellow, Dengue, and Rift Valley fevers are diseases that result in significant morbidity and mortality in humans and livestock globally. Currently, the development of natural product-based insecticides and repellents are under exploration to increase and improve our ability to protect humans from mosquito bites, and ultimately to reduce the incidence of mosquito-borne illnesses [1]. We have undertaken a collaborative research project to discover new natural compounds for personal protection and control of mosquitoes. Artemisia abrotanum L. leaves have reportedly been used as a moth and insect repellent. Therefore, we evaluated Artemisia abrotanum and A. pontica L. essential oils for mosquito repellent activity against Aedes aegypti L. Artemisia oils obtained by hydrodistillation of aerial parts were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main Artemisia oil constituents were as follows: A. abrotanum: 32.6% 1,8-cineole, 13.5% borneol, 10.2% presilphiperfolan-9α-ol and 8.0% p-cymene; A. pontica: 35.6% artemisia ketone, 30.1% α-thujone, 22.3% 1,8-cineole and 3.7% β-thujone. Artemisia abrotanum oil showed repellent activity down to a minimum effective dosage of 0.219mg/cm2 (±0.143) using cloth patch assay. Whereas A. pontica oil exhibited no repellent activity at the highest concentration tested, 0.375mg/cm2. Our research into exploring the repellency of specific compounds in the A. abrotanum oil will continue and be expanded to include other mosquito vectors and pesticide resistant mosquito strains.

Acknowledgement: This study was supported by a grant from the Deployed War-Fighter Protection (DWFP) Research Program and the U.S. Department of Defense through the Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB), and by a grant from the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

References: 1. Hoel D et al. (2010) Wingbeats 21(1): 19–34.