Effect of the Topical Repellent para-Menthane-3,8-diol on Blood Feeding Behavior and Fecundity of the Dengue Virus Vector Aedes aegypti

Comparison of the cytotoxicity and zebrafish embryo toxicity of insect repellent ingredients: p-Menthane-3,8-diol synthesized by green chemistry from Eucalyptus citriodora and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide

Bio-sourced insect repellents are becoming more popular due to their safer applications. Known for its strong fly-repellent property, Cis, trans-para-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD) is the main component of the lemon eucalyptus essential oil and is synthesized from citronellal. In April 2005, US Centers for Disease Control approved two fly repellents that do not contain N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), including PMD. Due to the intentional and pervasive human exposure caused by DEET as insect repellent, concerns have been raised about its toxicological profile and potential harm to people. We hypothesized PMD would have a different toxicological profile than DEET. We synthesized PMD from Eucalyptus citriodora using green chemistry methods and analyzed its structures by 1H-NMR,13C-NMR, and GC/MS spectral methods. We used MTS assay to determine the percentage inhibition of PMD and DEET on keratinocyte (human epidermal keratinocyte [HaCaT]) cells. The xCelligence system was used and followed at real time. Effects of PMD and DEET on zebrafish embryo development were monitored and levels of lipid peroxidation, glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) were evaluated at 72 h post-fertilization using spectrophotometric methods. Our results showed that while DEET inhibited human keratinocyte cell growth, while imporved cell viability and proliferation was exposed in PMD exposed group. In zebrafish embryos, PMD was less toxic in terms of development, oxidant-antioxidant status, and AChE activities than DEET. Based on these results we suggest an efficient method using green chemistry for the synthesis of PMD, which is found to be less toxic in zebrafish embryos and human keratinocyte cells.

Evaluating putative repellent 'push' and attractive 'pull' components for manipulating the odour orientation of host-seeking malaria vectors in the peri-domestic space

Background

Novel malaria vector control approaches aim to combine tools for maximum protection. This study aimed to evaluate novel and re-evaluate existing putative repellent ‘push’ and attractive ‘pull’ components for manipulating the odour orientation of malaria vectors in the peri-domestic space.

Methods

Anopheles arabiensis outdoor human landing catches and trap comparisons were implemented in large semi-field systems to (i) test the efficacy of Citriodiol^® or transfluthrin-treated fabric strips positioned in house eave gaps as push components for preventing bites; (ii) understand the efficacy of MB5-baited Suna-traps in attracting vectors in the presence of a human being; (iii) assess 2-butanone as a CO₂ replacement for trapping; (iv) determine the protection provided by a full push-pull set up. The air concentrations of the chemical constituents of the push–pull set-up were quantified.

Results

Microencapsulated Citriodiol^® eave strips did not provide outdoor protection against host-seeking An. arabiensis. Transfluthrin-treated strips reduced the odds of a mosquito landing on the human volunteer (OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.12–0.23). This impact was lower (OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.52–0.66) during the push-pull experiment, which was associated with low nighttime temperatures likely affecting the transfluthrin vaporisation. The MB5-baited Suna trap supplemented with CO₂ attracted only a third of the released mosquitoes in the absence of a human being; however, with a human volunteer in the same system, the trap caught < 1% of all released mosquitoes. The volunteer consistently attracted over two-thirds of all mosquitoes released. This was the case in the absence (‘pull’ only) and in the presence of a spatial repellent (‘push-pull’), indicating that in its current configuration the tested ‘pull’ does not provide a valuable addition to a spatial repellent. The chemical 2-butanone was ineffective in replacing CO₂. Transfluthrin was detectable in the air space but with a strong linear reduction in concentrations over 5 m from release. The MB5 constituent chemicals were only irregularly detected, potentially suggesting insufficient release and concentration in the air for attraction.

Conclusion

This step-by-step evaluation of the selected ‘push’ and ‘pull’ components led to a better understanding of their ability to affect host-seeking behaviours of the malaria vector An. arabiensis in the peri-domestic space and helps to gauge the impact such tools would have when used in the field for monitoring or control.

Comprehensive and Durable Modulation of Growth, Development, Lifespan and Fecundity in Anopheles stephensi Following Larval Treatment With the Stress Signaling Molecule and Novel Antimalarial Abscisic Acid

The larval environment of holometabolous insects determines many adult life history traits including, but not limited to, rate and success of development and adult lifespan and fecundity. The ancient stress signaling hormone abscisic acid (ABA), released by plants inundated with water and by leaf and root fragments in water, is likely ubiquitous in the mosquito larval environment and is well known for its wide ranging effects on invertebrate biology. Accordingly, ABA is a relevant stimulus and signal for mosquito development. In our studies, the addition of ABA at biologically relevant levels to larval rearing containers accelerated the time to pupation and increased death of A. stephensi pupae. We could not attribute these effects, however, to ABA-dependent changes in JH biosynthesis-associated gene expression, 20E titers or transcript patterns of insulin-like peptide genes. Adult females derived from ABA-treated larvae had reduced total protein content and significantly reduced post blood meal transcript expression of vitellogenin, effects that were consistent with variably reduced egg clutch sizes and oviposition success from the first through the third gonotrophic cycles. Adult female A. stephensi derived from ABA-treated larvae also exhibited reduced lifespans relative to controls. Collectively, these effects of ABA on A. stephensi life history traits are robust, durable and predictive of multiple impacts of an important malaria vector spreading to new malaria endemic regions.

2D and 3D structure-activity modelling of mosquito repellents: a review $

Repellents disrupt the behaviour of blood-seeking mosquitoes protecting humans against their bites which can transmit serious diseases. Since the mid-1950s, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) is considered as the standard mosquito repellent worldwide. However, DEET presents numerous shortcomings. Faced with the heightening risk of mosquito expansion caused by global climate changes and increasing international exchanges, there is an urgent need for a better repellent than DEET and the very few other commercialised repelling molecules such as picaridin and IR3535. In silico approaches have been used to find new repellents and to provide better insights into their mechanism of action. In this context, the goal of our study was to retrieve from the literature all the papers dealing with qualitative and quantitative structure-activity relationships on mosquito repellents. A critical analysis of the SAR and QSAR models was made focusing on the quality of the biological data, the significance of the molecular descriptors and the validity of the statistical tools used for deriving the models. The predictive power and domain of application of these models were also discussed. The hypotheses to compute homology and pharmacophore models, their interest to find new repellents and to provide insights into the mechanisms of repellency in mosquitoes were analysed. The interest to consider the mosquito olfactory system as the target to compute new repellents was discussed. The potential environmental impact of these chemicals as well as new ways of research were addressed.