Research

Longitudinal evaluation of Ocimum and other plants effects on the feeding behavioral response of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in the field in Tanzania

Eliningaya J Kweka^1,2 , Franklin W Mosha² , Asanterabi Lowassa³ , Aneth M Mahande^1,2 , Michael J Mahande¹ , Charles P Massenga¹ , Filemoni Tenu⁴ , Ester E Lyatuu¹ , Michael A Mboya¹ and Emmanuel A Temu⁵

¹  Tropical Pesticides Research Institute, Division of Livestock and Human Disease Vector Control, P.O. Box 3024, Arusha-Tanzania

²  KCM College of Tumaini University P.O. Box 2240, Moshi, Tanzania

³  Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, P.O. Box 661, Arusha, Tanzania

⁴  National Institute for Medical Research, Ubwari Field station, P.O.Box 81, Muheza, Tanzania

⁵  Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan

author email corresponding author email

Parasites & Vectors 2008, 1:42doi:10.1186/1756-3305-1-42

Published:	22 October 2008

Abstract

Background

The use of repellent materials from plants against nuisance insects is common with great potential to compliment existing malaria control programmes and this requires evaluation in the field. Ocimum plant species, Ocimum suave (Willd) and O. kilimandscharicum (Guerke) materials and their essential oils extracted by steam distillation were evaluated in the field and experimental huts for repellence, exophily and feeding inhibition effects against three mosquito species, Anopheles arabiensis (Patton), An. gambiae ss (Giles) and Culex quinquefasciatus (Say). The protective effect of essential oils from Ocimum plants were compared with N, N-diethly-3- methylbenzamide (DEET), a standard synthetic repellent. Also, the protective effect of fumigation by burning of repellent plants; Ocimum suave, Ocimum kilimandscharicum, Azadirachta indica, Eucalyptus globules and Lantana camara were tested in experimental huts and selected local houses.

Results

In the field, protection by Ocimum plants from mosquito bites was high and there was small variation among different mosquito species. Protection efficiency was 93.4%, 91.98% and 89.75% for An. arabiensis while for Cx. quinquefaciatus it was 91.30%, 88.65% and 90.50% for DEET, Ocimum suave and O. kilimandscharicum respectively. In the experimental hut, deterrence induced by burning of Ocimum and other plants ranged from 73.1.0% to 81.9% for An. arabiensis and 56.5% to 67.8% for Cx. quinquefaciatus, while feeding inhibition was 61.1% to 100% for An. arabiensis and 50% to 100% for Cx. quinquefaciatus. Evaluations under field conditions confirmed high protective efficacy, enhanced feeding inhibition and house entry inhibition (Deterrence).

Conclusion

This study shows the potential of Ocimum suave and Ocimum kilimandscharicum crude extracts and whole plants of Ocimum suave, Ocimum kilimandscharicum, Azadirachta indica, Eucalyptus globules and Lantana camara for use in protecting against human biting while the burning of plants reduces significantly the indoor resting mosquitoes.