Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Apr 18;60(15):3867-73. doi: 10.1021/jf300101w. Epub 2012 Apr 3.
Dried male inflorescences of breadfruit ( Artocarpus altilis , Moraceae) are burned in communities throughout Oceania to repel flying insects, including mosquitoes. This study was conducted to identify chemicals responsible for mosquito deterrence. Various crude extracts were evaluated, and the most active, the hydrodistillate, was used for bioassay-guided fractionation. The hydrodistillate and all fractions displayed significant deterrent activity. Exploratory GC-MS analysis revealed more than 100 distinctive peaks, and more than 30 compounds were putatively identified, including a mixture of terpenes, aldehydes, fatty acids, and aromatics. A systematic bioassay-directed study using adult Aedes aegypti females identified capric, undecanoic, and lauric acid as primary deterrent constituents. A synthetic mixture of fatty acids present in the most active fraction and individual fatty acids were all significantly more active than N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET). These results provide support for this traditional practice and indicate the potential of male breadfruit flowers and fatty acids as mosquito repellents.
面包果（Artocarpus altilis，桑科）的干雄花序在整个大洋洲的社区中燃烧，以驱赶包括蚊子在内的飞虫。这项研究旨在确定负责驱蚊的化学物质。评估了各种粗提取物，活性最高的水蒸馏物用于基于生物测定的分级分离。水蒸馏物和所有馏分均显示出显著的驱避活性。探索性 GC-MS 分析显示出 100 多个独特的峰，并且推测出 30 多种化合物，包括萜烯、醛类、脂肪酸和芳烃的混合物。使用成年埃及伊蚊雌性进行的系统生物测定指导研究确定了癸酸、十一烷酸和月桂酸为主要驱避成分。最活跃馏分中存在的脂肪酸的合成混合物以及个别脂肪酸均比 N,N-二乙基间甲苯酰胺（DEET）更有效。这些结果为这种传统做法提供了支持，并表明雄面包花果和脂肪酸作为驱蚊剂的潜力。
