American scientists have identified chemicals in scented soaps that can attract mosquitoes. Reported by TASS.
The discovery was made during a study on the effect of soap on the behavior of bloodsucking insects. To do this, the authors selected 16 volunteers, took scent samples from their skin, and asked them to wash themselves for several days with a strictly defined brand of soap. They then collected new skin odor samples from the same people and compared which one the mosquitoes preferred. As a result, only one of the four brands studied repelled mosquitoes, and the other three attracted them.
After that, the authors continued to study the effect of various scented molecules in this soap on mosquitoes. Experiments have shown that three aromatic compounds with tropical fruit and flower scents, as well as lilies, a substance with a lily-of-the-valley scent, strongly attract mosquitoes’ attention. In addition, the researchers were able to identify three more molecules: benzyl benzoate, benzaldehyde and nonalactone, substances with characteristic floral, almond, and watermelon flavors that make insects less likely to attack the volunteers.
The authors hope that their findings will allow soapmakers to take these behavioral traits of bloodsucking insects into account and confer soap-repelling qualities.
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