Article Summary of Essential oils of Cupressus funebris, Juniperus communis,

and J. chinensis (Cupressaceae) as repellants against ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and

mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and as toxicants against mosquitoes

Introduction

Being able to control exposure to mosquito and tick-borne illnesses through

repellants would have an impact in both the scientific community and the world as a
whole. Mosquitoes and ticks are vectors for various illnesses such as dengue fever,
Chikungunya, Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, malaria and Lyme disease. Many of the
previous illnesses can reach epidemic levels, which is why repellants or toxicants are
frequently used to try to reduce the amount of the biting arthropods.

While being able to control vector insect populations with repellants and toxicants
is a good form of reduction for the various illnesses, repeated exposure to synthetic
repellants shows a growing resistance. Ergo, finding alternative methods of controlling
exposure to these vector arthropods is an issue of great concern. Plant and seed oils are
already being used in natural based insecticides that are low risk environmentally due to
the fact they are naturally occurring. With the need for an alternative method of
protection and the growing resistance to synthetic repellants and toxicants, a natural
repellant may prove to be more effective.

The researchers in this study were attempting to identify the compounds that
make up each of the plant oils and then test the effectiveness of each as a repellant. After
each test, they could then further isolate which compounds appeared to be the most
effective as repellants or toxicants. This topic was of value for the fact that if the
researchers could isolate a naturally occurring compound that worked as an effective and
safe repellant, the occurrence of tick and mosquito borne illness around the world could
be reduced. The hypothesis of the researchers stated, One purpose of this study was to
characterize the chemical composition of the essential oils of C. fineries, J. chinensis, and
J. communis by analysis using gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry
(GC-MS). The second purpose was to evaluate these oils as repellants against the ticks A.
americanum and I. scapularis and as repellants and adult and larval toxicants against the
yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L) (Carroll et al, 2011, p. 259).

Materials and Methods

The researchers conducted tests on living subjects, ticks and mosquitoes, using
the repellants and controls of synthetic repellant and ethanol. When testing the ticks, J.
scapularis and A. americanum nymphs were tested three to five, and three to six months
after molting, respectively (Carroll et al, 2011, p. 259). The adult mosquitoes that were
tested had been aged five to nine days.

The techniques used for the experiments varied based on how each type of
arthropod would approach and bite the target. For the ticks they used 15 cm Petri dishes
with 9 cm Petri dishes glued inside, creating a moat when water was added, and a filter

paper suspended into the middle Petri dish. Many species of ticks climb up vertical
surfaces when searching for a meal so the filter paper was suspended as the vertical
surface for the tick to climb. Test solutions consisted of ethanol controls, deet, and
essential oils from J. communis, C. funebris and J. chinensis.

The mosquito experiment design consisted of shielding the arm of a human test
subject but leaving a small 4x8 cm opening for mosquitoes to land and bite. A small cloth
could be treated with test solutions and placed near the opening. Test solutions consisted
of ethanol controls, deet, and essential oils from J. communes, C. funebris and J.
chinensis. The protocol was approved by the University of Florida Human Use
Institutional Review Board-01 (Study #636-2005) (Carroll et al, 2011, p. 261).

Results
The result of this study was that the researchers found that all three essential oils
were repellant to the ticks, with J. communis being the most effective of the three. Two of
the three oils were not consistently effective at repelling the female mosquitoes but,
again, the oil of J. communis showed a minimum effective dosage (MED) that was
similar to the deet. Toxicity in the experiment was negligible. There did not appear to be
anything surprising or unexpected in the study.

Discussion
The hypothesis of this study focused on two things: one was in characterizing the
chemical composition of the essential oils, which was accomplished, and the other was to

evaluate the oils as repellants and toxicants for ticks and mosquitoes. The repellant
properties of the oils against ticks showed promising results while the repellant properties
against mosquitoes could lead to further testing or a new delivery method.

One limitation of this study is the small sample of plants being tested. The
researchers mention various other plants that have shown strong repellant and toxicant
properties. In order to increase the chances of finding a more effective natural repellant
for ticks and mosquitoes carrying these vector illnesses, increased experimentation will
be needed in the future with more varied plant sources.

Modification of testing methodology may need to be considered as well. When

testing for the effectiveness of repellants for the mosquitoes on human test subjects, it
would be more effective to test the solution in an application format that would be used in
real life situation. Testing a solution that is safe for application directly to the skin may be
more successful with mosquitoes.

Works Cited

Carroll, J. F. &Tabanca, N. & Kramer, M. & Elejalde, N. & Wedge, D. E. & Bernier, U.
R. & et al. (2011). Essential oils of Cupressus funebris, Juniperus communis, and
J. chinensis (Cupressaceae) as repellants against ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and
mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and as toxicants against mosquitoes. Journal of
Vector Ecology, Vol. 36, no. 2, 258-268.