Formulation and evaluation of eco-friendly handmade herbal mosquito repellent cone

Abstract

A mosquito belongs to the insect-family Culicidae, order Diptera, suborder Nematocera and class Insecta. Mosquito act as vector which carries many disease causing parasites and viruses. Preventing mosquito spread is immensely necessary to stop spread of various contagious diseases. Now days, uses of plant based mosquito repellent have increased as synthetic repellents contains many noxious chemicals which can cause possible toxicity like skin toxicity and causes swelling, redness, itching and many health problems. The herbal mosquito repellent cones were prepared by using saw dust, cow dung, gum acacia, neem powder, eucalyptus powder and lemon grass powder. Lemon grass has insecticidal property. Saw dust increases the combustion. Gum acacia act as binder. Cow dung shows antioxidant and mosquito repellent property. Neem has mosquito repellent property. Herbal mosquito repellent cone were prepared by hand rolling method. The evaluation parameters of herbal mosquito repellent cone contain burning time (min), smoke visibility, odor, irritation test, ash weight (g.) and mosquito repellent activity. The formulation LNC containing lemon grass powder along with neem powder and cow dung in equal ratio shows best activity and maximum effectiveness in reducing mosquito number in comparison with all other formulations. In present study, the powders used in formulation were herbal based and eco-friendly and producing no side-effect on use. Here an attempt has been made to find out the novel formulation of different herbal plant powders containing alone and with combination for mosquito repellent cone.

Full text

[230]
International Journal of
Pharmaceutics and Drug Analysis
Availabe at www.ijpda.com ISSN: 2348:8948
Formulation and evaluation of eco-friendly handmade herbal mosquito repellent cone
Virendra Kumar Singh1, Ramesh Kumar Singh1, Bharat Mishra2, Divyani Singh3
1 BN College of Pharmacy, Bakshi Ka Talab, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 226201
2 Rameshwaram Institute of Technology & Management, Lucknow
3 Hygia institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Faizullahganj, Prabhandh Nagar, Lucknow, (U.P.). 226020
Received: 11 Aug 2021 Revised: 05 Sept 2021 Accepted: 19 Oct 2021
Abstract
A mosquito belongs to the insect-family Culicidae, order Diptera, suborder Nematocera and class Insecta. Mosquito act as
vector which carries many disease causing parasites and viruses. Preventing mosquito spread is immensely necessary to
stop spread of various contagious diseases. Now days, uses of plant based mosquito repellent have increased as synthetic
repellents contains many noxious chemicals which can cause possible toxicity like skin toxicity and causes swelling,
redness, itching and many health problems. The herbal mosquito repellent cones were prepared by using saw dust, cow
dung, gum acacia, neem powder, eucalyptus powder and lemon grass powder. Lemon grass has insecticidal property. Saw
dust increases the combustion. Gum acacia act as binder. Cow dung shows antioxidant and mosquito repellent property.
Neem has mosquito repellent property. Herbal mosquito repellent cone were prepared by hand rolling method. The
evaluation parameters of herbal mosquito repellent cone contain burning time (min), smoke visibility, odor, irritation test,
ash weight (g.) and mosquito repellent activity. The formulation LNC containing lemon grass powder along with neem
powder and cow dung in equal ratio shows best activity and maximum effectiveness in reducing mosquito number in
comparison with all other formulations. In present study, the powders used in formulation were herbal based and eco-
friendly and producing no side-effect on use. Here an attempt has been made to find out the novel formulation of different
herbal plant powders containing alone and with combination for mosquito repellent cone.
Keywords: Mosquito repellent, contagious diseases, burning time.
Introduction
Mosquito are one of the most disturbing and blood
sucking organism that disturbs Homo sapiens sapiens[1].
Mosquito species included in the genera Anopheles,
Aedes and Culex are vectors for the various disease
pathogens like malaria, dengue fever, myiasis, yellow
fever, encephalitis etc. The death rate increased to one
million as of 2018, according to the American
Association of Mosquito control. High fever and chills
are its symptoms [2, 3, 4]. Mosquito work as a vector for
many deadly disorders that transfers the virus or
parasite from one person to another person or in
animals also [5]. Globally, mosquito borne diseases are
increasing because of high rate of reproduction and
development of resistance of insecticides in mosquito
[6]. Both male and female mosquito survives on plant
juice. Male mosquito do not bite human beings but the
female mosquito suck human blood after mating as
proteins is required for the maturation of eggs [7].
Chemical mosquito repellent have been extensively
used to control the rate of mosquito either by killing or
even preventing mosquito to bite the human beings or
even killing mosquito’s larvae at breeding sites *2+.
Many of the plant extracts have beneficiary effect to
health when consumed for longer time period. The
oldest book of Hindu civilization is the Rig-Veda in
India, written 5000 years ago. Much more higher and
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2021 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
*Corresponding Author
Bharat Mishra
Email: bharatekansh@gmail.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47957/ijpda.v9i4.488
Produced and Published by
South Asian Academic Publications
Research Article
Int J. Pharm. Drug. Anal, Vol: 9, Issue: 4, 2021; 230-235

[231]
modified use of plant material occurs in Atharvana Veda. Atharvana Veda had an Upaveda called Ayurveda. Charaka
Samhita and Sushruta are famous treaties of Ayurveda. The Charaka Samhita includes 395 medicinal plants, 57 drugs of
animal origin, 64 minerals as therapeutic agents [8]. Now days, mosquito have developed resistance which causes a need
to develop an alternative method of mosquito control. For an effective formulation of repellent, one need check its toxicity
problem which should match with the increased incidence of insect resistance. Globally, chemical larvicides are also used
to control mosquito’s population but these chemicals are toxic to humans, plants and animals.
According to WHO pesticide evaluation, major insecticides used in the Americas is the pyrethroids and
organophosphates. Examples of chemical-based insect repellents used for mosquito are DEET [9] (N, N diethyl- m-
toluamide) it is a registered pesticide, but possible side effects and warnings include: skin and eye irritation, insomnia etc.
Permethrin, resmethrin and sumithrin are some synthetic pyrethroids used to kill adult mosquito. Many plant extract are
also used in mosquito repellents. Researchers are finding that many plant based mosquito repellent not more effective
than DEET [4] like Neem powder, eucalyptus powder etc [2].
Butylated Hydroxy Toluene (B.H.T) - is an antioxidant, which cause hepatic or renal toxicity after ingestion or inhalation
is used in various repellents.
Aerosols mosquito repellent damage the health and environment, also very expensive commercially and cause many
harm to common people. Because of this reason one need to develop a safe herbal mosquito repellent [10, 11]. Plants based
repellent work as emerging source for mosquito control and are used mainly to due to its insecticides or repellent
properties. Plant powders are naturally occurring and have characteristic strong odor. Plant powder is generally green in
color and has fine particles [2].
Advantages of herbal mosquito repellent
Non-poisonous, inexpensive, eco-friendly, easily available, non-irritant, easy to make, also act as insect repellent [12].
Table 1: Herbal Drug information used in preparation of Mosquito repellent.
S. No.
Plant Part
Medicinal
Importance
Image
1.
Neem leaves
(Azadirachta
indica)
Anti-helmenthic,
antifungal,
antidiabetic,
antibacterial,
antiviral,
contraceptive
and sedative.
2.
Lemon grass
( Cymbopogon
citratus L.)
Natural insect
repellents
3.
Eucalyptus
leaves
(Eucalyptus
globulus L.)
Insecticide
and miticide
Virendra Kumar Singh et al,. Int J. Pharm. Drug. Anal, Vol: 9, Issue: 4, 2021; 230-235

Virendra Kumar Singh et al,. Int J. Pharm. Drug. Anal, Vol: 9, Issue: 4, 2021; 230-235
[232]
Materials
Raw material used for production of the herbal
mosquito repellent cone were saw dust, cow dung, gum
acacia, neem powder, eucalyptus powder and lemon
grass powder. Different ingredients used in the
preparation have different function.
Gum acacia is an excellent binder. Saw dust will
enhance the combustion power. Lemon grass has
medicinal property and insecticide ability. Cow dung
smoke is potential antioxidant and also act as mosquito
repellent. Neem has anti-viral and mosquito repellent
property.
Plant powder and excipients used to make mosquito
repellent cone
Dried Pyrethrum flower: Dried flower head of
Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium. It is potent insecticidal,
Neem: obtained from Azadirachta indica is a widely
available plant with many good properties, neem is an
excellent mosquito repellent, Lemon grass oil: obtained
from Cymbopogon nardus plant. strong scent of it
irritates the mosquito, Camphor: white and oily resin of
the tree Cinnamommum camphor 13-16, Acorus
calamus: Contains the compound β- asarone which has
anti-feedant and larvicidal properties, Benzoin: The
resin obtained from the aromatic tree Styrax genus. Its
odour also repels mosquitoes, Joss/Jigat powder: Bark
powder of the Persea marcantha tree, Gum acacia- used
as a binder and Cow Dung: Anti-oxidant and mosquito
repellent. Herbal drug information is given in Table 1.
Methods
Collection of leaves
Fresh leaves were collected from herbal garden of BN
College of Pharmacy and after that washed with tap
water and kept for air drying for 3 weeks.
Drying, grinding and screening of herbal powder
All dried leaves are subjected for grinding by using
grinder mixer and after that screening of powder by
help of sieves was performed. The powder should be
very fine or else there would be problems in the binding
and burning. The prepared raw material is shown in
figure 1.
Figure 1: Wet mass and raw material for preparation of
mosquito repellent cone.
Preparation of herbal mosquito repellent cone:
Weighed the dried powder individually and transferred
in mortar and pestle, mixed well then water was
gradually added to the fine powder until it attains wet
mass (damp mass) like consistency. It should be well
mixed and not too watery otherwise it creates problem
in making cone. Cones were prepared by hand rolling
method.
Same methods were followed for all
formulation. Formulation information was given in table
2. The cones were dried for few hours under shade. Hot
air oven at 50°C for 6 hrs can also be used to dry the
cones faster (figure 2). Dried cone were then dipped in
peppermint oil. Finally cones were packed in a airtight
polybag and stored at room temperature (figure 3).
4.
Rose
petals
(Rosa
canina
L.)
Anti
bacterial
5.
Marigold
(Calendula
officinalis
L.)
Insect
repellent

Virendra Kumar Singh et al,. Int J. Pharm. Drug. Anal, Vol: 9, Issue: 4, 2021; 230-235
[233]
Figure 2: Drying of herbal cone in Hot air oven
Figure 3: Different formulation of herbal mosquito
repellent cone
Table 2: various formulation containing herbal powder
ingredients.
S.No.
Formulation
no.
Herbal powder
ingredients
Percentage
1
L
Lemmon grass
100%
2
E
Eucalyptus
100%
3
N
Neem
100%
4
LNE
Lemmon grass
+Neem+
Eucalyptus
33.33%
+33.33%
+33.33%
5
LNC
Lemmon grass +
Neem+ Cow
dung
33.33%
+33.33%
+33.33%
6
EN
Eucalyptus +
Neem
50% + 50%
7
LNEC
Eucalyptus +
Lemon grass +
Neem + Cow
dung
25% +25%
+25% +25%
8
LN
Lemmon grass +
Neem
50% + 50%
Evaluation Parameters:
Burning time (minutes): Mosquito repellent cone from
each formulation were burned and time was noted
down.
Smoke visibility
Individually each mosquito repellent cone was burned
and its smoke visibility was checked.
Odor
Individually each mosquito repellent cone was burned
and its odor was checked.
Irritation test
Individually each mosquito repellent cone was burned
and its irritancy was checked.
Ash weight (g.)
Ashes of each formulation were individually taken and
carefully weight on weighing machine using butter
paper.
Testing mosquito repellent activity of mosquito
repellent cone using mosquito net cage method
About 20 mosquitos were transferred in the net cage.
The mosquito repellent cones were burned in the room
for 1 hour. Reduction in mosquito number was observed
(table 3).
Results
The formulation LNC containing lemon grass, neem and
cow dung shows the best result as mosquito repellent.
The burning time was longest for this formulation when
compared with all other formulation. Smoke visibility
was also high. Aroma was also most pleasant. Ash
weight was minimum for this formulation and shows
maximum mosquito repellent activity when compared
with other formulation.
Table 3: Evaluation parameters of herbal mosquito
repellent cone
S.
N
o.
Form
ulati
on
no.
Bur
nin
g
tim
ing
(mi
nut
e)
Sm
oke
visi
bili
ty
Odo
r
Irrit
atio
n
test
As
h
we
ig
ht
(g.
)
Mo
squ
ito
rep
elle
nt
acti
vity
(nu
mb
er)
1.
L
12
Hig
h
Satis
facto
ry
No
0.8
9
2
2.
E
5
Low
Goo
d
No
1.3
0
3.
N
8
Hig
h
Goo
d
No
0.9
7
1
4.
LNE
18
Hig
h
Satis
facto
ry
No
0.3
2
8

Virendra Kumar Singh et al,. Int J. Pharm. Drug. Anal, Vol: 9, Issue: 4, 2021; 230-235
[234]
5.
LNC
35
Hig
h
Most
Satis
facto
ry
No
0.1
7
15
6.
EN
16
Hig
h
Goo
d
No
0.5
3
4
7.
LNEC
25
Hig
hest
Goo
d
No
0.2
8
11
8.
LN
15
Hig
h
Satis
facto
ry
No
0.5
7
3
Figure 4: Burning timing of all formulation
Figure 5: Ash weight (g.) of all formulation
Figure 6: Mosquito repellent activity (number) of all
formulation
Discussion
In this present research work, an attempt is done to
prepare herbal mosquito repellent cone using saw dust
and cow dung as fillers along with herbal powder of
lemon grass, neem and eucalyptus. Also supporting
excipients are added to the preparation. Here, different
combination of herbal powder is tested as mosquito
repellent cone. Some combination of herbal powder
shows excellent property as mosquito repellent.
Evaluation parameters of herbal mosquito repellent
cone are shown in Table 3. It contains burning time
(minute), smoke visibility, odor, irritation test, ash
weight (g.) and mosquito repellent activity. Smoke
visibility shows the volume of smoke released from the
mosquito repellent cone and gives an idea that natural
mosquito repellent and natural pesticides is always
better than synthetic preparations.
All eight formulations are also tested in mosquito
affected areas. At burning time, it was observed that up
to 95% of mosquito number was greatly decreased.
Formulation LNC containing lemon grass powder along
with neem powder and cow dung shows maximum
effectiveness in reducing mosquito number when
compared with all other formulation. Also aroma of this
formulation was most satisfactory. Formulation LNEC
also shows very good mosquito repellent property as
here cow dung reduces the excessive irritancy caused by
eucalyptus powder. Formulation LNE also shows good
mosquito repellent property. That’s why use of natural
mosquito repellent cone is more holistic and better
option than synthetic mosquito repellent cone as it is
more effective as well as environmental friendly also.
Conclusions
Through present research paper work, it is revealed that
lemon grass powder and neem powder shows very
good mosquito repellent activity. So, Lemon grass along
or in a combination can be used as a very good
mosquito repellent. Many products can be made by
using various combinations of lemon grass powder and
neem powder like Spray, cream, liquidator, cone, candle
and coil etc to get more effective mosquito repellent
activity. By promoting more use of natural mosquito
repellent, one can reduce the noxious effect of synthetic
mosquito repellents on human health and environment.
Also natural mosquito repellent is inexpensive, easy to
use and easily available and shows maximum repellent
activity against mosquito. Hand-made mosquito
repellent cone are less harmful to health as compared
with marketed synthetic coil. Through present research,
0
0.5
1
1.5
Ash weight(g.)
Formulation no.
Ash
weight (g.)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
L
E
N
LNE
LNC
EN
LNEC
LN
Mosquito repellent
activity(number)
Formulation no.
Mosq…
0
10
20
30
40
Burning Time (min)
Formulation no.
Burning
timing(mi
n)

Virendra Kumar Singh et al,. Int J. Pharm. Drug. Anal, Vol: 9, Issue: 4, 2021; 230-235
[235]
it is clearly seen that Lemon grass shows excellent
mosquito repellent activity when used in combination
with other herbal powders or alone. More stimulated
test and trials are required for commercialization of
mosquito repellent cone.
References
1. Makhaik M., Naik SN., Tewary DK.
Evaluation of anti-mosquito properties of
essential oils. J Sci Ind Res 2005; 64: 129-133
2. Mohomed AA., Tarek IAAM., Zarrag IAA.
Larvicidal and repellent effect of some
Tribulus terrestris L., (Zygophyllaceae)
extracts against the dengue fever mosquito,
Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). J Saudi
Soc 2012; 20: 13-16.
3. Karunamoorthi K, Ilango K. Larvicidal
activity of Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf.
and Croton macrostachyus Del. against
Anopheles arabiensis Patton (Diptera:
Culicidae), the principal malaria vector. Eur
Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2010;14 (1):57–62.
4. Chaiyakunapruk N., Kongkaew C., Sakunrag
I., Tawatsin. Effectiveness of citronella
preparations in preventing mosquito bites:
systematic review of controlled laboratory
experimental studies. Tropical Med Int Health
2011; 16: 802-810.
5. Gubler DJ. Resurgent vector-borne diseases as
a global health problem. Emerging infectious
diseases. 1998 Jul;4(3):442.
6. Madhumathy AP, Aivazi AA, Vijayan VA.
Larvicidal efficacy of Capsicum annum against
Anopheles stephensi and Culex quinquefasciatus. J
Vector Borne Dis. 2007; 44:223-6.
7. Klowden MJ. Blood, sex, and the mosquito.
Bioscience. 1995 May 1;45(5):326-31.
8. Frandin MS, Day JF. Comparative efficacy of
insect repellents against mosquito bites. New
England journal of Medicine 2002; 347: 13-18.
9. BravermanY, Chizov-Ginzburg A, Mullens,
BA. Mosquito repellent attracts Culicoides
imicola (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).Journal of
Medical Entomology,1999; 36(1): 113–115.
10. E.J. Mavundza, R. Maharaj, J.F. Finnie, G.
Kabera, J. Van Staden An ethnobotanical
survey of mosquito repellent plants in
Mkhanyakude district, KwaZulu-Natal
province, South Africa J Ethnopharmocol, 137
(2011), pp. 1516-1520.
11. S.Phasomkusolsil, M. Soonwera Insect
repellent activity of medicinal plant oils
against Aedes aegypti (Linn.), Anopheles
minimus (Theobald) and Culex
quinquefasciatus Say based on protection time
and biting rate Southeast Asian J Trop Med
Public Health, 41 (2010), pp. 831- 840.
12. EK. Patel, A. Gupta and RJ. Oswal, “A review
on: mosquito repellent methods, international
journal of pharmaceutical, chemical and
biological sciences”, 2012, 2(3), 310-317.
13. A.K. Mishra, N. Singh, V.P. Sharma Use of
Neem oil as mosquito repellent in tribal
villages of Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh
Indian J Malariol, 32 (1995), pp. 99-103.
14. N.G.Das, D.R. Nath, I. Baruah, P.K. Talukdar,
S.C. Das Field evaluation of herbal mosquito
repellents J Commun Dis, 31 (2000), pp. 241-
245.
15. Y.Young-Cheol, L. Eun-Hae, L. Hoi-Seon, L.
Dong-Kyu, A. Young-Joon Repellency of
aromatic medicinal plant extracts and a steam
distillate to Aedes aegypti J Am Mosq Control
Assoc, 20 (2004), pp. 146-149.
16. N.G. Das, Sunil Dhiman, P.K. Talukdar
Synergistic mosquito-repellent activity of
Curcuma longa, Pogostemon heyneanus and
Zanthoxylum limonella essential oils J of
Infection and Pub Health Vol 8, Issue 4, July–
August 2015, pp 323-328.
17. Mendhekar Seema Yuvraj, Bodke Nikita
Nivrutti, Thorat Pratik Bharat, S. L Jadhav,
“formulation and evaluation of polyherbal
mosquito repellent creams (ointment type)
with extra skin nourishing impact”, published
in world journal of pharmacy and
pharmaceutical sciences, 6(12), page no- 1735-
1737.