Gscarr 2022 0184
Gscarr 2022 0184
Gscarr 2022 0184
net/publication/362363548
The combined efficacy of neem (Azardirachta indica) seed oil and orange
(Citrus sinensis) peel oil cream as a mosquito repellent
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Publication history: Received on 09 June 2022; revised on 16 July 2022; accepted on 18 July 2022
Abstract
Essential oils obtained from certain plants have repellent potency against insects such as mosquitoes. Most repellents
on the market have the synthetic formulation of N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) as the main active ingredient.
This study is an attempt to contribute to the search for an effective plant-extracted essential oil, Neem and Orange as
alternative to DEET.
The oil from Citrus sinensis (sweet orange) peels was extracted by steam distillation and that for Azadirachta indica
(Neem) seed by Soxhlet extraction respectively. Creams were formulated at four concentrations of 5%, 15%, 25% and
30% v/w respectively for Neem, Orange peel and combined Neem-Orange oils, after which laboratory reared
mosquitoes were used to assess the efficacy of each of the concentrations. A DEET-based cream of 13% concentration
was used as the standard.
Wild mosquito larvae were brought to the laboratory from which the adults female after mating were given a blood
meal. Second generation mosquitoes were used for the arm in cage test (AIC).
The combined Neem and Orange-based cream at 30% was as effective as the DEET-based repellent which recorded the
highest repellent time, followed by Neem cream and the Orange peel based cream recorded the least repellent time even
at 30% concentration. The statistically significant difference at 30% between DEET and Orange peel, Neem, and
combined Neem-Orange creams were 0.030, 0 .499 and 0.195, respectively.
This study suggests that the combined Neem and Orange Peel Oil can be used to produce repellent creams due to their
synergistic potency and good smell.
1. Introduction
Mosquitoes are important public health concern especially in developing countries as a result of being vectors to many
pathogenic organisms that infect humans[1, 2]. They serve as vectors for the transmission of dengue fever, malaria,
filariasis, yellow fever just to mention few[3, 4].
According to the 2021 World Malaria Report, there was an estimated figure of 241 million cases of malaria worldwide
in the year 2020 with Africa constituting 95% of the world burden. Additionally, the World Health Organization, Africa
Corresponding author: Godfred Yaw Boanyah
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, P.O. Box 30772, Nairobi 00100, Kenya.
Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0.
GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 2022, 12(01), 057–067
Region carried 96% burden of the 627 000 total global malaria deaths estimated in 2020 [5]. Malaria is also responsible
for a significant maternal deaths in Ghana and Africa as a result of contracting malaria during pregnancy[6]. From the
findings of Ameme et al, (2014), Malaria accounts for 40% of outpatients cases in Ghana from their cross sectional study.
Transmission cycle of human-vector contact can be broken by the use of repellent [8]. Additionally, the application of
proper mosquito repellent on clothing and bed nets have yielded massive positive results especially in Africa, conferring
protection to the individual using them [9, 10]. Moreover, topical repellent is one of the most effective ways of
controlling outdoor biting of mosquitoes[11].
Furthermore, N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) based repellents are the standard and most common synthetic
products in our markets today. Even though very effective, the repercussions of their continuous use cannot be
overlooked. The fear of the side effects of DEET by people is gradually giving market to the natural repellents [12]. The
findings of Colucci and Müller[2018] showed that DEET showed at least 6 hours of protection against Aedes aegypti,
Anopheles stephensi and Culex quinquefasciatus in a field studies in Switzerland at 15% [14–16]. Additionally, increasing
insecticide resistance has posed a major obstacle to mosquito control programmes and this calls for the development
of new repellents[12, 17].
The use of botanicals and derivatives as insect repellent particularly against mosquitoes is a feasible option to achieve
protection against the mosquitoes, and thus, reducing the risk of acquiring mosquito borne diseases[16, 18, 19]. Among
the various natural organic chemicals, products from the neem tree, Azadirachta indica, like neem seed oil have long
been established as a potential mosquito repellent[20]. Azadirachtin, a complex tetra-terpenoid limonoid compound in
neem seeds, is the major component responsible for the repellent action in insects [21]. Moreover, repellents from
essential oils are environmentally friendly, biodegradable and not harmful to non-target organism as compared to the
synthetic DEET[22].
Citrus sinensis on the other hand considered in this study has several usefulness. Juice from the fruits is used in the
production of different beverages in large quantities. Flavour from the oil of peels are used to season foods and it has
repellent effect as well due to the presence of limonene [23–25]. Peels of Citrus fruits (Citrus sinensis) has also been
proven to possess repellent properties [26]. Exploration of different botanicals against mosquitoes should be continued,
thereby reducing the contact of human and mosquitoes as well as the risk of transmission of diseases to humans [27,
28].
This present manuscript elaborates the evaluation of the combined efficacy of neem seed oil and orange peel oil as
mosquito repellent against Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae using DEET as the standard.
Azadirachta indica from Tamale were dried and milled into powder. Oil was extracted from the powder (458.65 g) using
Petroleum ether (2.2 L) with the Soxhlet apparatus for 4 days. The extract was concentrated using the rotary evaporator
at temperature 45oC and a percentage yield of 43.6% v/w obtained. The oil was then stored in an amber bottle at a cool
dry place until ready for use.
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The extracted Citrus sinensis and Azadirachta indica oils were phytochemically screened according to the method used
by [30] and [31] to confirm limonene and azardirachthin respectively which were the active ingredient responsible for
the repellent effect before formulating it into a cream.
The twelve (12) volunteers were put into four (4) groups of three (3). Each group of three volunteers was assigned to
one concentration of the repellents, thus 5%, 15%, 25% and 30% respectively for orange cream and thereafter Neem
only and combined creams.
A confined netted cage on all sides made with wooden bar 20 cm by 20 cm by 20cm. A piece of hollow cloth, big enough
to allow for an arm or a glass screen to enter was fixed at one side of the nets. The netted cage was filled with 30
laboratory-reared mated and sorted female mosquitoes of Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti of 5 days old.
Bare hand without repellent was first introduced into the cage as a negative control followed by aqueous cream base
which was used to process the essential oils into repellent creams to see if it has any repellent effect and time recorded.
The cream of each concentration of a particular extract was smeared on the arm and the hand was put into the repellent
cage with mosquitoes starved for 12 hours. The hand was observed and the time it took for mosquito to land was
recorded. This was done by putting the hand in the box every 5 minutes (min) interval after the first 5 min till 30 min.
If no mosquito landed after 30 min, the interval time was increased to 15 minutes. Moreover, if no mosquito landed till
6 hours, the six hours was recorded as the complete protection time of the repellent. Also, the conditions of the
participants were observed during and after the test for any adverse reactions.
3. Results
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Figure 1 Comparison of Repellent Time of Neem and Orange Creams (Aedes aegypti)
The 13% DEET is standard product on the market and the study compared the CPTs of the prepared products to the
standard. The 13% DEET (5.06 ± 0.10 minutes) had a higher CPT compared to the neem seed (1.01 ± 0.19 minutes),
orange peel (0.83 ± 0.07 minutes) and combined neem seed and orange peel (1.69 ± 0.20 minutes) oil creams at 15%
concentration (Fig 2). There was a statistically significant difference between 15% neem seed vs. 13% DEET (p < 0.001);
15% Neem seed vs. 15% combined neem seed and orange peel (p = 0.002); 15% orange peel vs. 15% combined neem
seed and orange peel (p = 0.001); 15% orange peel vs. 13% DEET (p < 0.001); and 15% combined neem seed and orange
peel vs. 13% DEET (p < 0.001).
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When the 13% DEET was compared to the CPTs of the prepared products at 30% concentration, the 13% DEET (5.06 ±
0.10 minutes) still had a higher CPT compared to the neem seed (3.60 ± 0.25 minutes), orange peel (1.87 ± 0.23 minutes)
and combined neem seed and orange peel (4.17 ± 0.07 minutes) oil creams at 30% concentration (Fig 3). Generally,
there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between 13% DEET and all the products at 30% concentration.
The 13% DEET (20.90 ± 0.50 minutes) had a higher CPT compared to the neem seed (3.43 ± 1.15 minutes), orange peel
(1.83 ± 0.66 minutes), and the combined neem seed and orange peel (3.75 ± 0.03 minutes) oil creams at 15%
concentration (Fig 5). Statistically, significant difference existed between 15% neem seed vs. 13% DEET (p < 0.001);
15% orange peel vs. 15% combined neem seed and orange peel (p = 0.042); 15% orange peel vs. 13% DEET (p < 0.001);
and 15% combined neem seed and orange peel vs. 13% DEET (p < 0.001).
When concentrations of the products were increased to 30%, the CPTs of 30% neem seed (25.38 ± 0.48 minutes) and
30% combined neem seed and orange peel (27.72 ± 4.75 minutes) were higher than the CPT of 13% DEET (20.90 ± 0.50
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minutes) as shown in Fig 6. Statistically significant difference existed only between 30% neem seed vs. 30% orange peel
(p = 0.004), 30% orange peel vs. 30% combined neem seed and orange peel (p = 0.002), and 30% orange peel and 13%
DEET (p = 0.030).
Table 1 Comparison of the complete protection time between Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes
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4. Discussion
Previous study [34] indicated that 2% neem oil mixed in coconut oil was sufficient to provide 12h protection from the
bites of anopheline mosquitoes. In another study, the combination of the neem oil with kerosene oil showed protection
against mosquitoes [35]. In 2004, a commercial product called Bite Blocker which was made up of glycerine, lecithin,
oils of coconut, geranium and 2% soyabean showed 7.2 hours protection against Aedes albopictus[36].
Moreover, a laboratory study of Citrus sinensis oil at 0.02 mg/cm against Anoheles dirus provided 40% protection. A
recent study from Ethiopia has shown about 20% neem oil combination provide 3-hour protection against Anopheles
arabiensis in a field study [8]. Application of neem oil in water, (5 g/l; 0.3% Azadiractin in 1 litre containing the
emulsifier Sorbitan, tri-9-octadecenoate, poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) was effective in reducing the abundance and
oviposition of the mosquito Aedes albopictus [37]. However, a systemic review in 2018 demonstrated that Ligusticum
sinense extract was able to give 11 hours of protection against Anopheles mosquitoes[38].
From Figs 1 and 4, an increase in concentration corresponded with an increase in complete protection time (CPT) thus,
5%, 15%, 25% to 30% in that order. This trend was not different from an earlier research conducted on neem seed oil
as mosquito repellent and repellent action of orange peels oil on mosquitoes [26, 35]. Generally, there was a statistically
significant difference (p < 0.001) between the various concentrations of Neem seed and Citrus oil creams. However, a
post hoc test showed no significant difference (p = 0.079) between orange peel oil creams at 25% and 30%
concentrations for Aedes aegypti and 5% vs. 30% concentrations (p = 0.018), and 15% vs. 30% concentrations (p =
0.042) for Anopheles gambiae.
Furthermore, the high volatility of citrus could be responsible for almost an equal protection time between Neem and
Orange oil Creams at lower concentrations but drastically reduced at higher concentrations, especially at 30% [39].
Interestingly, the combined neem seed and orange peel oil cream did better than the individual creams (Figs 2, 3, 5, 6
and Table 1). The results indicated synergy between orange and neem oils because the formulation was 50:50 v/v. For
instance, the CPT of Anopheles gambiae at 30% for the combined cream gave (27.72 ± 4.75), this constituted 15% neem
seed oil and 15% orange peel oil which would have given (3.43 ± 1.15) and (1.83 ± 0.66) CPT individually (Table 1). The
synergistic repellent effect of combined essential oils observed confirmed recent findings by Noosidum et al, [2014]
and Feroz, [2020].
Repellent test involving skin application of Citrus peel oil at 20% and other essential oil produced irritancy in previous
studies [26, 40]. On the contrary, there was no record of any adverse reaction by all the participants during and after
this study probably due to incorporation of the oil into cream.
Also, DEET had excellent protection against Aedes aegypti compared to the natural creams at all concentrations.
However, Anopheles gambiae at 30% of neem only, and combined neem-orange creams (Figs 3 and 6) compared with
DEET gave a CPT mean difference of 4.48 and 6.82 respectively without significant difference between them. This is an
important indication that Combined Neem and Orange peel oil cream can be used as an alternate effective mosquito
repellent in Malaria endemic regions.
Finally, it is evident from the results that the CPTs of Aedes aegypti were much lower than that of Anopheles gambiae,
similar to research conducted in 2018 to evaluate CPTs of both Arm In-Cage Test (AIC) and field for two standard
mosquito repellents in Switzerland. For the AIC, the CPTs for Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae were 0.5 and 2 hours
respectively for DEET [13]. However, the results here for DEET (Table 1) are much lower than that recorded in their
work probably due to lower concentration used or environmental changes. This could also be due to continuous
reduction in repellence of DEET to Aedes aegypti upon previous exposure conferring genetic resistance [42]. As well as
an indication of resistance of mosquitoes to repellents especially the standard DEET on the market.
5. Conclusion
The observation from this study has shown clearly that DEET-based repellent is more effective against Aedes aegypti
than the plant products. However, Combined Neem Seed and Orange Peel Oil Cream at 30% is as effective as DEET and
therefore can be used as an effective mosquito repellent in Malaria endemic regions. There was generally reduced
complete protection time compared to previous studies for the standard, DEET and the plant repellents.
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Acknowledgments
I say a big thank you to Mr. Akuamoah Yaw and Patrick Obuam for their assistance for the field work and Esther Naanbir
(Agape Moringa Processing) for the extraction of the essential oils. And, the Department of Theoretical and Applied
Biology, KNUST for giving us the insectary for this research.
Supporting information
Table S1 Raw results for anopheles gambiae
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