Camphor in Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) as a Natural Mosquito Repellent

ABSTRACT

A study about Camphor in Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) as a Natural Mosquito Repellent was made to determine if it causes a significant difference on the repellency of mosquito on cloth treated with the commercial and natural mosquito repellent. The Researchers’ aim in conducting the study is to find locally available natural mosquito repellent.

The materials were gathered, prepared and made. Inm culturing the mosquitoes, the researchers prepared a container with rain water and waited for 1 week to get the larvae in the water and placed 5 larvae in each of the 3 cages with 30x30 measurement. Three set-ups were made with one as a control and the other two as the experimental set–ups. All set- ups used the same number of mosquitoes, volume of cages, temperature and pressure of the environment to ensure that mosquitoes were in a well- ventilated place and to avoid biased in the study. The same amount of extracts were used from both commercial and camphor from Gotu Kola leaves and same cloth was used in testing the natural mosquito repellents from Gotu Kola leaves, commercial natural mosquito repellent and a set – up with no treatment of natural mosquito repellent. The repellents were tested according to its duration (time it takes for mosquito to land on treated and untreated cloth). Number of mosquitoes landed on a given allotted time were also observed then further measured the repellency.

The results of the study were further statistically analyzed using a statistical test, ANOVA. From the data obtained, it can be concluded that camphor in Gotu Kola leaves could repel mosquitoes. Results clearly showed that there is no significant difference between the natural mosquito repellent from Camphor of Gotu Kola leaves to the commercial natural mosquito repellent