Mosquito and tick repellency of two Anthemis essential oils from Saudi Arabia

Authors: YUSUFOGLU, HASAN - Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University; Tabanca, Nurhayat; Bernier, Ulrich; Li, Andrew; SALKINI, MOHAMMED - Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University; ALQASOUMI, SALEH - King Saud University; DEMIRCI, BETUL - Anadolu Universtiy

Submitted to: Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/25/2018
Publication Date: 9/7/2018
Citation: Yusufoglu, H.S., Tabanca, N., Bernier, U.R., Li, A.Y., Salkini, M.A., Alqasoumi, S.I., Demirci, B. 2018. Mosquito and tick repellency of two Anthemis essential oils from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal. 26(6):860-864.

Interpretive Summary: Mosquitoes and ticks are blood-feeding disease vectors that transmit diseases to humans. Personal protection measures, such as repellents, can be effective against mosquito and ticks bites. Due to public concerns over the safety of common repellents like DEET, it is necessary to investigate more naturally derived compounds as potential repellents against blood sucking arthropods. USDA-ARS scientists and their international collaborators conducted a study to (1) determine the chemical compositions of essential oils of two plant species native to Saudi Arabia, and (2) evaluate their repellency against mosquitoes and ticks via laboratory bioassay techniques. Valuable information was obtained on the key compounds and moderate repellency of those essential oils. The results from this study contributes to the discovery efforts in developing natural repellent compounds for protection humans and livestock from arthropod bite and disease transmission.

Technical Abstract: The essential oils (EO) of Anthemis melampodina (Am) and Anthemis scrobicularis (As) (Asteraceae) were extracted from the aerial parts of the plant by hydrodistillation, and their chemical compositions were subsequently analyzed using GC-FID and GC-MS. Fifty-six components representing 85.5% of the oil composition of Anthemis melampdina were identified, and the major components were a-pinene (17.1 %) and ß-eudesmol (13.8%). Forty-one components representing 86% of the oil composition of Anthemis scrobicularis were identified, and the major component was beta-eudesmol (12.8%). Laboratory bioassays were conducted to determine repellency of Am and As EOs against yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti L. and the lone star tick Amblyomma americanum L. The minimum effective doses (MED) of the Am and As EO against mosquitoes were 0.187 ± 0.000, 0.312 ± 0.063 mg/cm2 respectively, which were significantly higher than that of DEET (0.023 ± 0.000 mg/cm2) in human-based repellent bioassays. As EO showed higher repellency than Am EO against nymphal ticks but was less effective than DEET in vertical paper bioassays.