|
Source: USDA/Agricultural Research Service Posted: February 2, 2006 A Granddad's Advice May Help Thwart MosquitoesRegional wisdom passed on long ago to a boy who grew up to be an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist could lead to the next breakthrough against mosquitoes. ![]() Berries and leaves of American beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, on Pinedale Farm. The Mississippi farm was once owned by John Rives Crumpton, grandfather of ARS botanist Charles T. Bryson. (Photo by Charles T. Bryson) The scientist, Charles T. Bryson, was told by his grandfather John Rives Crumpton that fresh, crushed leaves of American beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, helped keep biting insects away from draft animals such as horses and mules. According to Bryson, a botanist in ARS -- Southern Weed Science Research Unit at Stoneville, Miss., it was known among folks in northeastern Mississippi during the early 20th century that placing the crushed leaves under an animal -- s harness would mash out a repellant oil. Eventually, some people there started mashing the leaves and rubbing the residue on their own skins. Bryson later shared this knowledge with colleagues in ARS' Natural Products Utilization Research Unit at Oxford, Miss, where chemist Charles Cantrell studied the American beautyberry to see what it is about it that mosquitoes don't like. Cantrell, working with entomologist Jerome Klun of ARS -- Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Research Unit in Beltsville, Md., and Oxford plant physiologist Stephen Duke, isolated several insect-repelling compounds from the plant. Among these was callicarpenal, which may represent ARS -- next important anti-mosquito compound. ARS recently developed SS220, a repellent that -- s just as effective as DEET, the world -- s most-used insect repellent. DEET was developed by ARS and the U.S. Army decades ago. According to Cantrell, isolated callicarpenal was as effective in laboratory tests as SS220 in preventing mosquito bites. Those tests were conducted by Klun against the mosquito species Aedes aegypti, which is best known as the yellow-fever mosquito, and Anopheles stephensi, which spreads malaria in Asia. Cantrell said that a provisional patent application has been submitted for callicarpenal, and that toxicity trials will precede any testing on humans. ### ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency. Can't find it? Try searching ScienceDaily or the entire web with: |
Snap! Crackle! Pop! Electric Bug Zappers Are Useless For Controlling Mosquitoes, Says UF/IFAS Pest Expert (July 30, 1997) -- If mosquitoes and other insects are taking a bite out of your summer fun, don't bother with one of those electric bug zappers, says a University of Florida pest control ... > full story UF Researcher Designs "Diet Pill" To Control Mosquitoes (December 6, 1997) -- Dov Borovsky wants to put mosquitoes on a diet. Under the Borovsky three-day diet plan, legions of anorexic little buzzers would just starve to death. And that's exactly the idea. The University of ... > full story First Population Study Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Highlights Difficulties Facing Malaria Control Technique (February 21, 2003) -- The first laboratory population study of genetically modified mosquitoes identifies issues that need to be faced in the task of turning mosquitoes from disease carriers into disease fighters. ... > full story Mosquitoes Repelled By Tomato-Based Substance; Safer, More Effective Than DEET (June 11, 2002) -- A substance produced by tomatoes repels mosquitoes and other insects more effectively and is safer than DEET, the chemical most commonly used in insect repellents, a North Carolina State University ... > full story
|