A Comparative Study Between β-Cyclodextrin Microencapsulation of Euphorbia hirta (Tawa-Tawa) and Carica papaya (Papaya) Essential Oils for Mosquito Repellency Finishing of Cotton Fabric

Authors

  • Kimberly Anne Diaz
  • Airon R. Espineli
  • Renzel Athena T. Pineda

Keywords:

microencapsulation, mosquito repellency, alternative, β-Cyclodextrin

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and usually occurs during tropical seasons. With the increasing rate of dengue victims, many commercial repellent products are sold in the markets. However, these products consist of chemical compositions that may cause harm to our health. To provide an alternative solution for these commercial products the researchers analyzed treated cloth with plant extracts based in microencapsulation as a possible replacement for prevailing methods in preventing the spreading of mosquitoes. Through the use of β-Cyclodextrin, microencapsulation is created.

METHODS

Crude extracts from Euphorbiahirta(Tawa-Tawa) and Carica papaya (Papaya) leaves were microencapsulated with β-Cyclodextrin. Different ratios of β-Cyclodextrin and crude extracts were prepared. The mixtures were heated and stored in the refrigerator overnight. Using a vacuum oven, microcapsules were filtered, dried, and pulverized. Cotton cloths were submerged in a solution of β-CD-EuphorbiahirtaandCaricapapaya crude extracts microcapsules and BTCA for an hour with pH confined. The treated fabric was padded and dried; the microencapsulated essential oils that were applied on the cotton fabrics were washed for durability test. For the repellency test, fifty (50) femaleAedesaegyptimosquitoes were used. Number of mosquitoes that landed on the cotton fabric was observed for an hour with one-minute intervals.

RESULTS

Based on the results, it clearly showed that microencapsulation of essential oils was an effective method to prolong the repellency of mosquito. Mosquito repellency showed that the EuphorbiahirtaandCaricapapaya fabrics without washes have the least number of mosquitoes that landed on the cloth within an hour of experimentation. Meanwhile, non-treated cotton cloth got the highest number of mosquitoes that landed on it. The results depict that the microencapsulation of extracts on the cotton fabric could repel mosquitoes. For the durability test, treated cotton fabrics under 10 washes, between EHF2 and CPF3, papaya fabric has the least number of mosquitoes and tawa-tawa fabric have the highest number of mosquitoes that landed on the cloth. On treated fabrics under 20 washes, between EHF3 and CPF3, papaya fabric still has the least number of mosquitoes and tawa-tawa have the highest number of mosquitoes on the cloth. Consequently, Carica papaya leaves ismore effective in repelling mosquitoes than Euphorbiahirta.

DISCUSSIONS

The results demonstrated that cotton fabric treated with extracts of Carica papaya and Euphorbiahirtacan repel mosquitoes more than non-treated cloth. The replacement of microencapsulation of leaves crude extracts to commercial product repellents is possible. However, the higher number of mosquitoes that landed on tawa-tawa fabrics showed that papaya is more effective in repelling the mosquitoes away. Therefore, it could be concluded that onlyCaricapapaya can be used to repel mosquitoes.

Published

2019-01-18