Human skin contains natural repellents that can repel mosquitoes. Having isolated this chemical compound, American scientists propose to use it in the production of agents that protect against blood-sucking insects.
Mosquitoes are known to bite some people more often than others. A group of scientists from the US Department of Agriculture not only confirmed this observation, but also found the reason. Presenting his discovery at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, one of the authors of the study, Ulrich Bernier, said that he and his colleagues had found a substance in human skin that repels and disorients mosquitoes.
During the experiment, mosquitoes were placed in a special cage, where various compounds secreted by the skin were sprayed in turn. Scientists have noticed that 1-methylpiperazine not only does not attract the attention of mosquitoes, but also discourages their "scent". When, after methylpiperazine, the researchers sprayed lactic acid, the odor most attractive to mosquitoes, they did not react to it.
Methylpiperazine is one of many chemical compounds found in the skin. By depriving mosquitoes of their sense of smell, this substance makes a person “invisible” and unappetizing to them. And since the level of excretion of methylpiperazine by human skin is individual, this explains the lack of interest or increased "attention" of mosquitoes to different people.
At the same time, methylpiperazine is odorless, so it can be used as an additive for lotions, creams and other cosmetics. The latter is especially important for regions where the risk of contracting malaria is high. This disease is carried by mosquitoes; over 600,000 people die from malaria worldwide every year. In the case of adding methylpiperazine to cosmetic products, which are used daily by residents of disadvantaged "malaria" regions, the level of infection will be greatly reduced.
At the same time, scientists will need several more years to prepare the idea for practical implementation in industry.
Author: Anastasia Barinova
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