Evaluation of repellent activities of Cymbopogon essential oils against mosquito vectors of malaria, filariasis and dengue fever in India

Essential oils of four species and two hybrid varieties of Cymbopogon grasses were evaluated for their repellent properties against the major vector mosquitoes, namely, Anopheles stephensi, Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti, both in laboratory and field. The magnitude of repellency in the Cymbopogon essential oils was found to be of moderate to high order. All grass species protected completely from mosquito bites for 4 hrs, whereas C. nardus provided protection far as much as 8-10 hrs overnight.