Study summary
Plant-based insect repellents: a review of their efficacy, development and testing
Maia MF, Moore SJ
Read the original paper- Study type
- Review
- Year
- 2011
- Published in
- Malaria Journal 10(Suppl 1):S11
- Evidence strength
- Well-supported evidence
Summary
Review of plant-based repellent efficacy, development, and testing.
Key findings
Plant essential oils such as citronella, lemongrass, and geraniol give genuine but short and volatile protection; citronella lasts only a couple of hours and needs frequent reapplication or fixatives such as vanillin to extend, while geraniol is among the stronger performers.
Limitations
Narrative review of heterogeneous methods with no pooled effect size.