Efficacy assessment of Quwenling, a mosquito repellent from China.

Quwenling, an insect repellent product of China derived from extracts of the lemon eucalyptus plant (Eucalyptus maculata citriodon), was evaluated. Laboratory tests compared Quwenling with deet against Anopheles albimanus, An. quadrimaculatus, Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus and field tests with Ae. taeniorhynchus. Cloth treated with Quwenling at greater than 2x the dosage of deet was effective against 2 of 4 species tested (Ae. albopictus 29 days, An. quadrimaculatus 28 days). On the skin of volunteers at 2x the dosage of deet, the duration of protection for Quwenling was significantly less than deet with Ae. aegypti and Ae. taeniorhynchus, and was not significantly different with Ae. albopictus. Both repellents were ineffective against the anopheline species. As a topically applied mosquito repellent, Quwenling has a shorter duration of effectiveness than deet.