Repellent Activity of Essential Oil and Leaf extract of

ABSTRACT: Insect transmitted diseases in tropical countries remain a major health threat causing great morbidity every year. Mosquitoes are animals most of us would rather do without. Several mosquito species belonging to genera Anopheles, Culex and Aedes are vectors for the pathogens of various diseases like malaria, filariasis, Japanese encephalitis (JE), dengue and dengue haemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, etc. the need to protect ourselves from their bites seems even more important. Many plant-based products are widely used for their insecticidal/repellent properties for control of mosquitoes/protection from mosquito bites. Herbal products with proven potential as insecticide or repellent can play an important role in the interruption of the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases at the individual as well as at the community level. Use of repellents seems to be most reliable method of personal protection against annoyance and infections associated with haematophagous insects. We have tested the repellency of essential oil extracted from Lantana camara in laboratory condition application of oil to the upper surface of the human forearms at the rates between 0.08 to 3.33 mg / cm2 of skin. The study provides evidence for the potential of these essential oil in developing new repellents against mosquitoes