Evaluación del extracto de caléndula (Calendula officinalis) como repelente de mosquitos Aedes Aegypti

Abstract

The purpose of this research work was to evaluate the repellent effect of Calendula officinalis extract on adult female mosquitoes of the A. aegypti species, which is one of the most important species in public health and epidemiology worldwide. 10 volunteers of both sexes from the city of Bogotá, Colombia participated in the study. These volunteers were applied a solution of calendula extract and mineral oil at dissolution concentrations of 2% and 6%, in order to determine its effective dose greater than ED50 and a repellency time equal to or greater than 2 hours. The repellent was tested on a population of between 50 and 150 Aedes aegypti females, raised under controlled conditions, according to the guidelines of the WHO "Guide for testing the efficacy of repellents on human skin". The results obtained showed that both solutions are effective as mosquito repellent. However, the results obtained from the tests with a concentration of 6% were better in terms of determining effective dose and repellency time is concerned. With the above, it can be stated that calendula can be used as an alternative mosquito repellent, in addition to being friendly to the environment due to its organic characteristics.