Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Biological Chemistry

Sweetgrass Compounds Repel Mosquitoes

ACS Meeting News: Phytol and coumarin are as effective as commercial repellent DEET

by Elizabeth K. Wilson
August 24, 2015 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 93, Issue 33

[+]Enlarge
Credit: Andrew Maxwell Phineas Jones, University of Guelph
North American sweetgrass contains compounds that repel mosquitoes.
Sweetgrass plant.
Credit: Andrew Maxwell Phineas Jones, University of Guelph
North American sweetgrass contains compounds that repel mosquitoes.

Move over, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, otherwise known as DEET. Scientists have identified two compounds in North American sweetgrass that are as effective in repelling mosquitoes as the popular insect repellent. Charles L. Cantrell, a chemist at USDA’s Natural Products Utilization Research Unit in Mississippi, and colleagues at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, extracted the two compounds, coumarin and phytol, from the grass. To test the compounds’ effectiveness, they prepared vials of bloodlike liquid and covered them with skinlike membranes. They then soaked the membranes in coumarin, phytol, or DEET and observed that mosquitoes were as reluctant to “bite” the coumarin- and phytol-soaked membranes as the ones soaked in DEET. Although the two compounds, both relatively nontoxic, aren’t used specifically as insect repellents in commercial products, there’s been compelling evidence for their efficacy. For example, coumarin was an ingredient in Avon’s Skin So Soft products, which were later shown to have some insect repellent properties.

Structure of phytol.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.