A review: Patent literature on inventions containing essential oils with mosquito repellency

Mosquitoes belonging to the general Aedes Meigen, Anopheles Meigen, Culex L., Haemagogus L. are a general problem and are responsible for the transmission of important tropical diseases such as malaria, hemorrhagic dengue and yellow fevers and filariasis. Traditional sources of mosquito repelling essential oils are plants, glyceridic oils and repellent and synergistic chemicals. A Chemical Abstracts search on mosquito repellent inventions containing plant based essential oils revealed 144 active patents mostly from Asia. Chinese, Japanese and Korean language patents and those of India written in English accounted for roughly 3/4 of all patents. 67 essential oils and 9 glyceridic oils were individually cited in at least 2 patents. About 25% of essential oils containing inventions were made to be used with synthetic insect control agents having mosquito repellent properties such as pyrethroids, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET), (±) p-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD) and dialkyl phthalates. Synergistic effects involving one or more essential oils and synthetic and/or natural components were claimed in about 10% of all patents. Scientific literature sources provide evidence for the mosquito repellency of many of the essential oils and individual chemical components found in the same to be used in inventions containing patented repellent.