This study focused on the six most widely used plants in the Benin community to control mosquito vectors, as reported in a recent study in Benin. We compared the repellent activity of the undiluted essential oils extracted from these six plants as single oil, as well as their combination against Anopheles gambiae using the arm-in-cage method to determine the time of protection. These six plants are Syzygium aromaticum, Citrus aurantiifolia, Chromolaena odorata, Ocimum gratissimum, Hyptis suaveolens and Cymbopogon citratus. Chromolaena odorata oil was the most effective against An. gambiae (210 min). Moreover, we tested binary combinations of these essential oils in order to assess the additional protective potential of the mixture. The combination (Chromolaena odorata + Ocimum gratissimum) exhibited the best performance with a protection time of up to 4 hours. This study demonstrates the potential for the combined essential oils of Chromolaena odorata and Ocimum gratissimum to be used as a botanical repellent to control malaria vector An. gambiae.
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