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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchMadre de cacao (Gliricidia sepium), also called kakawate or mother-of-cocoa, has shown some mosquito-repelling activity in small studies—but the results are limited and inconsistent. A Philippine report found 1.4 hours of protection from a tested lotion; another study reported repellency from an ethanol leaf extract; a Costa Rican field study found no significant deterrence from the plant’s steam-distilled oil. None establishes that homemade leaves, oil, or lotion is a reliable or safe repellent for people.
What do the studies say about madre de cacao and mosquitoes?
The evidence depends on what part of the plant was prepared, how it was tested, and what outcome researchers measured. The studies below are not direct comparisons of the same product or protocol.
| Study | Preparation and setting | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Philippines, 1994; Cruz and de las Llagas | A lotion tested on human skin against outdoor-biting mosquitoes in rural and urban settings. The accessible HERDIN record provides an abstract, not detailed methods. | 1.4 hours of protection. Untreated exposed arms and legs reportedly received landings and bites within 17.9 minutes. The authors recommended further study. |
| Pakistan, 2008; Pakistan Journal of Botany | An ethanol leaf extract in preliminary repellency tests against Aedes aegypti. The abstract does not provide enough protocol detail to assess concentration or how protection time was calculated. | 78% maximum repellency for the extract, compared with 74% for citronella oil, as reported in the journal abstract. This is not a consumer-product performance claim. |
| Costa Rica, 2017; Ochoa | Steam-distilled essential oils from three plants, including G. sepium, tested on live volunteers against wild mosquitoes in Monteverde. The study covered 18 hours of exposure and 12 trials over four days. | No significant evidence that the plant oils repelled mosquitoes; DEET was the only treatment that significantly deterred them. |
The results cannot be ranked as if they came from one standardized test: the lotion was assessed by protection time on human skin, the Pakistan study reported a maximum percentage in preliminary testing, and the Costa Rican study examined plant oils in an outdoor volunteer setting. The Costa Rican finding applies to that preparation and location; it does not prove that every possible formulation is ineffective.
Does the agricultural research show it works on people?
No. A 2008 Costa Rican study tested G. sepium extracts against adult whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) on tomato plants, not mosquitoes or human skin. Some extract fractions deterred whiteflies in restricted-choice sleeve-cage tests, but none performed well when plants were exposed in greenhouse conditions. The authors suggested the deterrent compounds may have decomposed under those conditions.
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That crop-pest evidence does not demonstrate mosquito bite prevention. The study also stated that toxicological aspects of the plant extracts remained unknown; use of leaves and shoots as ruminant fodder does not establish that applying them to human skin is safe.
Is homemade kakawate repellent safe to apply?
The available studies do not establish a safe topical preparation, concentration, or application schedule for homemade leaf juice, oil, or lotion. A 2019 review of homemade botanical insecticides describes variable efficacy and preparation methods, often lower efficacy than synthetic positive controls, and unresolved health and environmental risks. It is a broad agricultural review, not a clinical safety assessment of G. sepium on human skin.
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The sources also do not verify a currently marketed, standardized madre de cacao mosquito repellent, its registration status, or a reliable dose and duration. A study preparation should not be treated as a ready-to-use product.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What should you use instead?
If you need dependable bite protection, choose a repellent product with clear directions and a stated duration of protection, and follow its label. The studies summarized here do not justify replacing a labeled repellent with homemade madre de cacao preparations or assuming the plant prevents mosquito-borne illness.
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