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Ingredients in Victoria’s Secret Bombshell and Ivanka Trump eaux de parfums that repel mosquitoes

Fangfang Zeng, Pingxi Xu, Kaiming Tan, Paulo H. G. Zarbin, Walter S. Leal
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/172304
Fangfang Zeng
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Pingxi Xu
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Kaiming Tan
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Paulo H. G. Zarbin
2Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Laboratório de Ecologia Química e Síntese Orgânica, CP 19081 CEP 81531-990 Curitiba-PR, Brazil
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Walter S. Leal
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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  • For correspondence: wsleal@ucdavis.edu
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Abstract

Insect repellents are widely used to fend off nuisance mosquitoes and, more importantly, to reduce or eliminate mosquito bites in areas where viruses and other vector-borne diseases are circulating. Synthesized more than six decades ago, DEET is the most widely used insect repellent. Plant-derived compounds are used in a plethora of commercial formulations and natural recipes to repel mosquitoes. They are also used as fragrances. We analysed Bombshell® to identify the constituent(s) eliciting a previously reported “off-label” repellence activity. The two major fragrance ingredients in Bombshell, i.e., methyl dihydrojasmonate and lilial, demonstrated strong repellence against the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus, in laboratory assays. Both compounds activated a previously identified DEET-sensitive odorant receptor, CquiOR136. These compounds were also major constituents of Ivanka Trump eau de parfum. The methyl dihydrojasmonate content was higher in the Ivanka Trump perfume than in Bombshell, the reverse being true for lilial. Both Bombshell and Ivanka Trump eaux de parfums retained activity for as long as 6 hours in laboratory assays. Although wearing these perfumes may repel nuisance mosquitoes, their use as “off-label” repellents against infected mosquitoes is not recommended. A panel of 104 students (18-23 years old) conducted a blind test to compare the two eaux de parfums and showed a preference for Bombshell over Ivanka Trump’s brand, particularly among women.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted August 03, 2017.
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Ingredients in Victoria’s Secret Bombshell and Ivanka Trump eaux de parfums that repel mosquitoes
Fangfang Zeng, Pingxi Xu, Kaiming Tan, Paulo H. G. Zarbin, Walter S. Leal
bioRxiv 172304; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/172304
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Ingredients in Victoria’s Secret Bombshell and Ivanka Trump eaux de parfums that repel mosquitoes
Fangfang Zeng, Pingxi Xu, Kaiming Tan, Paulo H. G. Zarbin, Walter S. Leal
bioRxiv 172304; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/172304

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