ESSENTIAL OILS USED AS REPELLENTS AGAINST AEDES AEGYPTI (CULICIDAE): A REVIEW OF PATENT LITERATURE

Due to the resistance of Aedes aegypti to the most common synthetic repellents, researches for alternative repellents have been made, for example, from essential oils. Given the need for more efficient repellents, the aim was to review the patent literature on the use of essential oils as repellents against Aedes aegypti. The review was carried out on the databases EPO, WIPO and on the Nacional Institute of Industrial Property-INPI. 77 patents were published, the first in 1992 and the last in 2023 with advances in formulations over the years. Most of the publications were from the United States, with 28 patents. 64 patents used essential oils as the main active principal. Of this total, the biggest was for topical use with 39 publications, being clove oil the most cited. The largest depositors were companies and universities from the United States and Brazil, respectively. Thus, the results demonstrated that patents related to repellents using essential oils against the Aedes aegypti mosquito have been published, but that repellents as an oviposition deterrent are incipient in the world.