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Callicarpenal

Callicarpenal is a terpenoid that has been isolated from plants of the genus Callicarpa (beautyberry). It acts as an insect repellent against mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi) and fire ants. It also has activity against ticks (Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum).

In comparison to the most commonly used insect repellent, DEET, callicarpenal is only about 21% less effective at preventing mosquito bites.

Callicarpenal was discovered by scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service who were inspired by reports that Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry) was used as a folk remedy to prevent mosquito bites.

References

References

  1. (2005). "Isolation and Identification of Mosquito Bite Deterrent Terpenoids from Leaves of American (Callicarpa americana) and Japanese (Callicarpa japonica) Beautyberry". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
  2. (June 2025). "Repellency of callicarpenal and intermedeol against workers of imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Journal of Economic Entomology.
  3. (2007). "Repellency of two terpenoid compounds isolated from Callicarpa americana (Lamiaceae) against Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum ticks". Experimental & Applied Acarology.
  4. (2011). "Synthesis of (−)-callicarpenal, a potent arthropod repellent". Tetrahedron.
  5. Luis Pons. (February 2006). "Folk Remedy Yields Mosquito-Thwarting Compound". Agricultural Research Magazine.
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This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

terpenes-and-terpenoids aldehydes insect-repellents
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