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NEWS RELEASE FROM THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY:

" Catnip Repels Mosquitoes More Effectively Than DEET "

CHICAGO, August 27, 2001 Researchers report that nepetalactone, the

essential oil in catnip that gives the plant its characteristic

odor, is about ten times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than

DEET the compound used in most commercial insect repellents.

The finding was reported today at the 222nd national meeting of the

American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society,

by the same Iowa State University research group that two years ago

discovered that catnip also repels cockroaches.

Entomologist , Ph.D., with Coats, Ph.D., chair of

the university's entomology department, led the effort to test

catnip's ability to repel mosquitoes. , a former post-

doctoral research associate at the school, is now with the U.S.

Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Wood Products Insects

Research Unit, in Starkville, Miss.

While they used so-called yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti)

one of several species of mosquitoes found in the United States

says catnip should work against all types of mosquitoes.

Aedes aegypti, which can carry the yellow fever virus from one host

to another, is found in most parts of the United States. Yellow

fever itself, however, only occurs in Africa and South America,

according to the Centers for Disease Control. Vaccines and mosquito

control programs have essentially wiped out the disease in the

United States, although there have been isolated reports of

unvaccinated travelers returning with the disease. The last reported

outbreak in this country was in 1905.

put groups of 20 mosquitoes in a two-foot glass tube, half

of which was treated with nepetalactone. After 10 minutes, only an

average of 20 percent †" about four mosquitoes remained on the side

of the tube treated with a high dose (1.0 percent) of the oil. In

the low-dose test (0.1 percent) with nepetalactone, an average of 25

percent five mosquitoes stayed on the treated side. The same tests

with DEET (diethyl-m-toluamide) resulted in approximately 40 percent

to 45 percent eight-nine mosquitoes remaining on the treated side.

In the laboratory, repellency is measured on a scale ranging from

+100 percent, considered highly repellent, to 100 percent,

considered a strong attractant. A compound with a +100 percent

repellency rating would repel all mosquitoes, while 100 percent

would attract them all. A rating of zero means half of the insects

would stay on the treated side and half on the untreated side. In

's tests, catnip ranged from +49 percent to +59 percent at

high doses, and +39 percent to +53 percent at low doses. By

comparison, at the same doses, DEET's repellency was only about +10

percent in this bioassay, he notes.

says nepetalactone is about 10 times more effective than

DEET because it takes about one-tenth as much nepetalactone as DEET

to have the same effect. Most commercial insect repellents contain

about 5 percent to 25 percent DEET. Presumably, much less catnip oil

would be needed in a formulation to have the same level of

repellency as a DEET-based repellent.

Why catnip repels mosquitoes is still a mystery, says .

“It might simply be acting as an irritant or they don't like the

smell. But nobody really knows why insect repellents work.

No animal or human tests are yet scheduled for nepetalactone,

although is hopeful that will take place in the future.

If subsequent testing shows nepetalactone is safe for people,

thinks it would not be too difficult to commercialize it as

an insect repellent. Extracting nepetalactone oil from catnip is

fairly easily, he says. Any high school science lab would have the

equipment to distill this, and on the industrial scale it's quite

easy.

Catnip is a perennial herb belonging to the mint family and grows

wild in most parts of the United States, although it also is

cultivated for commercial use. Catnip is native to Europe and was

introduced to this country in the late 18th century. It is primarily

known for the stimulating effect it has on cats, although some

people use the leaves in tea, as a meat tenderizer and even as a

folk treatment for fevers, colds, cramps and migraines.

A patent application for the use of catnip compounds as insect

repellents was submitted last year by the Iowa State University

Research Foundation. Funding for the research was from the Iowa

Agriculture Experiment Station.

, Ph.D., is a former post-doctoral research associate

at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, and is now a Research

Entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service,

Wood Products Insect Research Service, in Starkville, Miss.

R. Coats, Ph.D., is professor of entomology and toxicology and

Chair of the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University in

Ames, Iowa. "

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by

American Chemical Society for journalists and other members of the

public. If you wish to quote from any part of this story, please

credit American Chemical Society as the original source.

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