Evaluating repellence properties of a catnip essential oil-based mosquito repellent using the human landing catch method in Eastern Uganda - PMC
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Sci Rep<br>. 2026 Mar 14;16:13272. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-42618-5
Evaluating repellence properties of a catnip essential oil-based mosquito repellent using the human landing catch method in Eastern Uganda
Charles Batume<br>Charles Batume
1Department of Entomology, Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda
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1, Isaac Ssegujja<br>Isaac Ssegujja
1Department of Entomology, Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda
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1, Grace Kongai<br>Grace Kongai
2Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Kampala, Uganda
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2, Brenda Ayebare<br>Brenda Ayebare
2Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Kampala, Uganda
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2, Richard A Ludlow<br>Richard A Ludlow
3School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, cardiff, UK
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3, Lorenz K Fuchs<br>Lorenz K Fuchs
3School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, cardiff, UK
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3, Sarah Mutaka Logose<br>Sarah Mutaka Logose
5CEMPOP Uganda, Ltd, Kampala, Uganda
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5, John Ssebaale<br>John Ssebaale
5CEMPOP Uganda, Ltd, Kampala, Uganda
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5, Peter Randerson<br>Peter Randerson
3School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, cardiff, UK
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3, Ivan M Mukisa<br>Ivan M Mukisa
6Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
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6, John A Pickett<br>John A Pickett
4School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, cardiff, UK
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4, Simon Scofield<br>Simon Scofield
3School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, cardiff, UK
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1Department of Entomology, Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda
2Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Kampala, Uganda
3School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, cardiff, UK
4School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, cardiff, UK
5CEMPOP Uganda, Ltd, Kampala, Uganda
6Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
✉Corresponding author.
Received 2025 Nov 14; Accepted 2026 Feb 26; Collection date 2026.
© The Author(s) 2026
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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PMCID: PMC13106807 PMID: 41832282
Abstract
Mosquitoes (Diperta: Culidae) act as vectors for several diseases, including malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever. Mosquito repellents represent one of the primary measures used to reduce the risk of these diseases in humans by reducing mosquito landing and biting events. Nepetalactone, a natural insect repellent primarily found in the essential oil of catnip (Lamiaceae; Nepeta cataria), has established mosquito repellence properties, but has not been widely exploited as a mosquito repellent in malaria-endemic regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. Here, we evaluated the potential of a locally produced lotion containing catnip essential oil (comprising > 92% nepetalactone) for use as a mosquito repellent in Eastern Uganda. Using the human landing catch method in field trials, we analysed the effectiveness of a lotion containing 2% or 6% catnip oil at repelling mosquitoes compared to a lotion lacking catnip essential oil as a negative control and to...