Citronella is an attractive plant that produces a citrusy scent that is thought to repel mosquitoes. Its oil has been used as an insect repellent. The plant has been planted in garden areas, and it is commonly found in bath oils and soaps.
Citronella plants are easy to grow and they can be placed in containers. They can be trimmed into any shape. They are best in bright, sunny areas, but they do not work well in shady, moist areas.
During a study, citronella oil was compared to traditional chemical insect repellents. A combination of the two showed comparable protection against DEET, but it was less effective.
In order to find an effective and long-lasting solution for protecting humans from mosquitoes, several strategies have been investigated. This includes combining the oils with other ingredients. One such strategy involves the use of b-cyclodextrins as a carrier for the oils. These compounds help control the release of the oils, which also affects their repellent activity naasongs.net.
Citronella oil was incorporated into lotion bases, which were then tested. The percentage of unevaporated oil was plotted against the time it took to give protection. With the highest concentration of oil, a maximum of 47 percent of the oil was still unevaporated. Using the same ratio of the oils, the lotion gave the longest protection time of 4.8 h.
Another technique is to add fixatives to the oil-in-water lotions. This is the simplest approach to improving the protection time. Fixatives include vanillin, a chemical that may increase the duration of the protection time.