Portuguese-Brazilian team develops innovative products to control mosquitoes that spread diseases such as Dengue and Yellow Fever
The products developed are based on natural oils extracted from plants native to Brazil and Asia.
Translation by Diana Taborda
A multidisciplinary research team from the University of Coimbra (UC), with the participation of the Federal University of Bahia and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil, has developed a set of innovative products of natural origin in order to control the spread of mosquito species responsible for the transmission of diseases such as Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, yellow fever and West Nile fever. These products are safe and have a low ecological impact
The products are divided into two sets: one to eliminate larvae in water and the other to be used in insect traps and are made of natural oils from native plants of Brazil and Asia, combined with biodegradable polymers using methods and “green” solvents of low environmental impact. Furthermore, they also enable the controlled release of active ingredients in an efficient way.
The products developed by the UC and Brazilian scientists are different from others because they are "biodegradable, without toxic or dangerous substances for humans, animals or environment, and were designed to be used, in a broad way, to control mosquitoes of the Aedes genus (Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Aedes japonicus), an insect that carry diseases such as Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya fever, yellow fever and West Nile fever," says the project Coordinator Hermínio Sousa, a researcher at the Chemical Process Engineering and Forest Products Research Centre (CIEPQPF) of the UC.
Laboratory tests have already shown that these products are an effective alternative to synthetic larvicides and insecticides.
However, although the tests have shown very promising results, further studies are still needed before these products make it to the market.
According to the project coordinator, the next step will be to explore new approaches and carry out new studies in order to “expand the knowledge already acquired, not only in the fight against the other two insect vectors (A. albopictus and A. japonicus) associated with these diseases but also in the use of other natural compounds with biological activity for its control and of new formulations and products that can be put on the market and be used by the general population.”
This project, called "Innovative natural-based formulations for the control of Aedes aegypti in Iberian-American regions", also involves the participation of other researchers from CIEPQPF-UC (Mara Braga, Marisa Gaspar, Ana Dias and Carla Maleita) and was carried out over the last four years within the framework of a bilateral cooperation between Portugal and Brazil, and was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Ministry of Education of Brazil).