Development of Repellent Products Based on Plant Extracts as a Preventive Measure to Diseases Transmitted by the <i>Aedes aegypti</i> Mosquito

Abstract

The aim of this research is to develop a variety of repellent products for personal use, made from extracts of natural plants from the southern region of the State of Mexico as a strategy to reduce the figures of diseases transmitted by the <i>Aedes aegypti</i> mosquito (dengue, chikungunia and zica). The research is the result of the collaborative work of the Academic Group UTSEM-CA-1. The plants used were <i>Ricinnus comunis</i>, <i>Artemisia ludoviciana</i>, <i>Cymbopogum citratus</i>, <i>Cucurbita maxima</i>, <i>Coffea arabica</i> and <i>Syzygium aromaticum</i>. After conditioning these plants, extracts were obtained using organic solvents, different mixtures with extracts were formulated and their efficacy was tested by <i>in vitro</i> laboratory tests and skin tolerance tests, measuring the repellency in a period of time from one hour to five hours. Five repellent products for personal use were obtained: a patch, two products for spray skin application, liquid hand soap and an environmental incense. These five products, proved to repel mosquitoes in a similar way to commercial repellants classified as synthetic. In this way, the exploitation and use of the physicochemical properties of plants through the elaboration of products represents a strategy to reduce the infectious incidence of diseases transmitted by <i>Aedes aegypti</i>, as a solution to current health problems in the region.