Mosquito-borne diseases remain a major global public health concern, and the development of safer botanical repellents represents an important complementary strategy to synthetic products. In this study, the essential oil of Pogostemon cablin (PCEO) was chemically characterized and incorporated into a topical cream formulation to evaluate its repellent potential against Aedes aegypti. Phytochemical analysis by GC-MS revealed patchouli alcohol as the major constituent, consistent with the classical patchouli chemotype. The cream formulation was assessed for physicochemical properties and subjected to in vivo repellency testing using an arm-in-cage bioassay, with protection expressed as complete protection time. Molecular docking assays confirmed binding of PCEO constituents to the AaegOBP1 and AgamOBP1 binding sites with α-guaiene and β-elemene showing binding affinities comparable to DEET, supporting their potential contribution to olfactory disruption in mosquitoes. The PCEO cream demonstrated significant repellency, with complete protection time of 180 min. These findings suggest that PCEO-based formulations may represent a promising natural alternative for topical mosquito repellents, integrating phytochemical characterization, formulation design, and mechanistic insights.
Santos et al. (Mon,) studied this question.