Assessment of Efficiency of Eco-Friendly Organic Mosquito Repellent Developed using Elephant Dung
Ramya Petchimuthu1, Clayton Fernando R2, Anand G3, Gowtham P.S4, Dhivagar K5, Vanavil B6
1Ramya Petchimuthu, Department of Biotechnology, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education College, Krishnankoil (Tamil Nadu), India.
2Clayton Fernand R, Department of Biotechnology, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education College, Krishnankoil (Tamil Nadu), India.
3Anand G, Department of Biotechnology, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education College, Krishnankoil (Tamil Nadu), India.
4Gowtham P.S, Department of Biotechnology, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education College, Krishnankoil (Tamil Nadu), India.
5Dhivagar K, Department of Biotechnology, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education College, Krishnankoil (Tamil Nadu), India.
6Vanavil B, Department of Biotechnology, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education College, Krishnankoil (Tamil Nadu), India.
Manuscript received on 01 December 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 19 December 2019 | Manuscript Published on 31 December 2019 | PP: 459-462 | Volume-8 Issue-4S2 December 2019 | Retrieval Number: D11531284S219/2019©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijrte.D1153.1284S219
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Mosquitoes transmit a range of infectious agents that affects human health. Malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and other mosquito-borne diseases infect countless individuals and account for thousands of deaths annually, causing a large burden to public health and on the economic process of developing countries. At present, concerning 40% of the world’s populations mainly in India live in areas where the chance of dengue fever transmission is most. High rate of reproduction and lack of effective vaccines against several mosquito-borne pathogens makes us extremely addicted to the utilization of insecticides to manage the mosquito populations so as to prevent illness due to transmission. Mosquito repellents mainly consist of pyrethroids that lead to hyper excitation of nervous systems and its prolong usage results in corneal damage, liver damage and asthma. Hence, need for the development of the most effective organic herbal insect repellent must be taken into account due to the toxicity issues, together with the increased incidence of resistance to insects. In this perspective, the present study aimed to develop an eco-friendly mosquito repellent as an alternative for chemical repellent using elephant dung and other natural resources and to assess the efficiency of the organic repellant compared to commercial repellent. Elephant dung has being employed for fuel supply, biofertilizer and paper production. Natural ingredients like Nerium flowers, Tulsi, Neem leaves, Lemon grass oil and Natural loban were used in combination with the elephant dung to reinforce the potency of the mosquito repellent. Smoke toxicity of organic mosquito repellent was evaluated. Emission test for commercial and developed repellent was also compared and it is evident that there is 57% reduction in the carbon-di-oxide emission from developed repellent than commercial repellent and there are no traces of emission of carbon monoxide from the developed repellent. Also, cage test proves that the developed mosquito repellent is highly efficient against mosquitoes and hence can be more effectively used for control of mosquitoes.
Keywords: Mosquitoes, Mosquito-Borne Diseases, Pyrethroids, Elephant Dung, Organic Herbal Mosquito Repellent.
Scope of the Article: Bio-Science and Bio-Technology