The irritant receptor TRPA1 mediates the mosquito repellent effect of catnip.

ABSTRACT: Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a common garden herb well known for its euphoric and hallucinogenic effects on domestic cats,^1-3 for its medicinal properties,^4,5 as well as for its powerful repellent action on insects.^6,7 Catnip extracts have been proposed as a natural alternative to synthetic insect repellents, such as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET),^8,9 but how catnip triggers aversion in insects is not known. Here, we show that, both in Drosophila melanogaster flies and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the major mediator of catnip repellency is the widely conserved chemical irritant receptor TRPA1. In vitro, both catnip extract and its active ingredient nepetalactone can directly activ

SUBMITTER: Melo N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8764911 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature