Mosquito-borne disease accounts for the death of approximately 700,000 people annually throughout the world with many more succumbing to the debilitating side effects associated with these diseases. Moreover, this is exacerbated in many countries where the lack of mosquito control resources and the lack of methods to treat and prevent human and veterinary disease coincide. As wild mosquito populations grow more resistant to currently utilized control chemistries, the need for cheap and effective novel chemical means for vector control are more important than ever. Previous work in our laboratory has demonstrated that plant essential oils and terpenoids are capable of enhancing the toxicity of permethrin against multiple mosquito species that are of particular importance as public health vectors. Our hypothesis is that plant essential oils are capable of enhancing diverse insecticidal classes via the inhibition of detoxification of synthetic inseciticdes. To test this, our group has screened numerous plant essential oils in combination with diverse insecticidal classes and has identified key differences in enhancement values among these insecticidal classes that suggest interference with detoxification enzyme systems. Moreover, we have demonstrated that plant essential oils are capable of enhancing pyrethroids against a pyrethroid-susceptible and pyrethroid-resistant strain of <i>Aedes aegypti</i>. We are now exploring the potential of plant essential oils to inhibit various detoxification enzyme systems via <i>in vitro</i> enzyme activity assays. These studies will allow for the identification of phytochemical additives that may be incorporated in future insecticidal formulations with the goal of overcoming insecticide-resistance in public health vector populations. Our hope is that these additives will represent an economically sustainable and environmentally friendly means of combatting insecticide-resistance in public health vectors.

Phytochemical synergists: Natural plant oils as synergists for diverse pyrethroids

254th National Meeting (2017)

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