Repellency of Veratraldehyde (3,4-Dimethoxy Benzaldehyde) against Mosquito Females and Tick Nymphs

oleh: Soon-Il Kim, Jun-Hyung Tak, Jeong Kyu Seo, Seong Ryel Park, Jiwon Kim, Kyung-Hwan Boo

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-05-01

Deskripsi

Arthropod-borne infectious diseases cause many deaths and a major economic burden worldwide. Repellents play an important role in protecting people from infectious biting arthropods. The repellency of veratraldehyde, a known food additive, and the WJ-1041 formulation containing 10% veratraldehyde was tested against <i>Aedes albopictus</i> and <i>Culex pipiens pallens</i> females and <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> nymphs using arm-in-cage, indoor or filter paper tests. Veratraldehyde exhibited repellency similar to or lower than that of <i>n,n</i>-diethyl-<i>meta</i>-toluamide (DEET) against <i>A. albopictus</i>, but in <i>H. longicornis</i>, the activity of veratraldehyde was better than that of DEET. The repellency of the 10% veratraldehyde solution was comparable to that of 20% DEET against the two mosquitoes. When comparing repellency between the WJ-1041 formulation (10% veratraldehyde) and 10% DEET against <i>C. pipiens pallens</i>, <i>A. Albopictus</i> and <i>H. longicornis</i>, the two showed similar repellency and complete protection time (CPT) values. However, there was a small difference depending on the tested insects. The absorption of veratraldehyde via skin was minimal, if at all. The pharmacokinetic parameters (C<sub>max</sub> and T<sub>max</sub>) of veratraldehyde in blood samples of rats were not different from those of the control group. Based on these results, veratraldehyde has high potential to be commercialized as a repellent agent against infectious disease-borne pests in the near future.