Abstract:
The study was conducted to determine the mosquito repellent activities of the leaf extract of the plants Tagetes erecta L. and Origanum vulgare L. in order to obtain safe and efficient herbal mosquito repellent candles. Both leaf plants are dried, powdered and soaked in methanol before it was subjected to solvent extraction, separately.
Mosquitoes numbering 1350-1400 were collected and reared until its viable stage (5-days post-emergence mosquito). The study used the experimental method with completely randomized research design. The One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was utilized in treating the data. Including Percentage (%) Mosquito Repellency, Post Hoc Analysis and Tukey’s HSD.
The findings of the study revealed that there is a high significant difference between the percentage mosquito repellence of each 25%, 50% and 75% of the Oregano, Marigold, and the Control: Citronella. A significant difference was also found between the three candles. Both the Oregano and Citronella Candle displayed the best and same
effects in warding off the test subjects.
Based on statistical findings, conclusions were drawn: (1) Each candle containing higher concentrations of leaf extract provided high level of mosquito repelling action against mosquito and have shown greater results than the lower concentrations. (2) In the case of treatment formulation, the level of repellence increased with the increasing concentration of the leaf extract. Therefore, the mosquito repellent responses to candles made with natural components are dose dependent. (3) There is a high significant difference on the percentage of mosquito repellence of 25%, 50% and 75% Oregano, Marigold, and the Control: Citronella. (4) Using essential oil and leaf extracts that are common within the locality is cost-efficient and poses less risk to human and the environment. Thus, with this study, it can be concluded that natural products with non-toxic component could be used as mosquito repellents.
