Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

TESTING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF Tagetes erecta (Marigold) STEM

AND LEAVES AS MOSQUITO REPELLANT

Life Science Diad Category  

Jade T. Bilonghilot, Gordon Louie Ceniza  

Proponent  

Ms. Angel May Ladrera

Research Adviser

REGIONAL SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL FOR REGION IX  

Malasiga, San Roque, Zamboanga City  

February 20, 2022

Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

ABSTRACT
This study aimed to produce a natural mosquito repellant from the stem and leaves of Tagetes
erecta (Marigold Flower) which is economical, abundant, eco-friendly, and effective. The
researchers came up with this idea because constant use of commercialized mosquito repellants
can be potentially toxic to the body of an individual which can cause skin irritation, breathing
problems, and other disorders. The researchers will gather marigold plants, then separate the
leaves from its stem. The researchers will then blend the leaves and group them in 3 separate
batches same with the stem of the marigold. Each of the 3 separate batches will be placed in 10
inches of gauze then rolled tightly to hold its shape then left in a cool dry place too dry. The
product will be placed in the left box with the mosquitoes, then it will be lit to see if the
mosquitoes transfer to the right box to see if it is able to repel mosquitoes. This experiment will
be repeated 2 more times to gather more data. Based on the analysis of the results and findings, it
came out that Treatment 2 composed Tagetes erecta stem is the best in repelling mosquitoes as it
repelled more mosquitos than treatment 1 which is composed of tagetes erecta leaves during the
experimentation. There was no significant difference of shelf life of Treatment 1 compared to
Treatment 2. Based on the analysis of the results and findings, Treatment 1 composed of Tagetes
erecta leaves was able to repel 1 mosquito effectively with repetition, though not as great as
Treatment 2 as Treatment 2 composed of Tagetes erecta stem being the most effective mosquito
repellant was able to effectively repel 2 mosquitoes with repetition. This will really help
researches out there that involve working on repellants without harming the researchers and at
the same time being economic, abundant, eco-friendly, easy to prepare, and effective.
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of The Study

B. Statement of The Problem

C. Statement of The Hypothesis

D. Significance of The Study

E. Scope and Limitation

F. Review of Related Literature and Studies

METHODOLOGY

A. Research Locale

B. Research Design

C. General Procedure

D. Disposal Treatment

E. Statistical Tools

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

CONCLUSION

RECOMMENDATIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDICES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of The Study

In the tropics, pests have been very common for a long time, and it never fails to bother

people in all sorts of ways. And one of these pests are the mosquitos that we are all so fond of.

Mosquitos, a common pest in the Philippines, they’ve been a plague as far as we can tell, and

recently, the whole world, has been plunged into a state of calamity, as per the huge COVID19

trend, however, although the world might be focused on the pandemic, it shouldn’t be forgotten

that one of the huge factors in transmitting deadly diseases are Mosquitos themselves. Mosquitos

have been known to transfer diseases, and cause high casualties, as it has occurred in the past,

which are several breakouts of diseases in particular countries with diseases pertaining to traces

of mosquitos.

Over the past decades, people have developed such products and other more inventions

that have been designed to repel or exterminate mosquitoes for human convenience as well as for

the public’s health safety. Although it might have changed now, we still need to prioritize

measures for defense against mosquitoes. And we won’t stop there and persevere in finding an

effective method in repelling mosquitoes.

During the last decade, we have already developed countermeasures, that of which

everybody can adhere to, and discipline themselves to, in order to help in reducing the amount of

victims from mosquito bites that procure diseases that are deadly or anything other than that,

knowing that our country is situated in a particular area on the earth near the equator, with a

climate that is suitable for a mosquito’s cultivation and production. Knowing the poor level of

health safety of the people of this nation, even with all these alternatives, thus, this thesis seeks to
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

produce an effective and natural alternative that can repel mosquitoes, with natural ingredients

that can be harmless to humans.

B. Statement of The Problem

This study aims to determine whether Marigold plant can be useful in repelling

mosquitoes and serve as a natural alternative.

Specifically, this study aimed to answer the following questions:

1. Which of the following samples are much more effective?

a. Marigold Stem 90%, Gauze 10 inches

b. Marigold Leaves 70%; Gauze 10 inches

c. Commercialized Mosquito Coil

2. Which of the 3 Treatments have the longest shelf-life?

3. Which of the 3 treatments was more effective at repelling mosquitoes?

C. Statement of The Hypothesis

1.) There is a significant difference between the effectiveness of the 1 st Treatment as

compared to the effectiveness of the 2nd and 3rd Treatments.

2.) There is no significant difference between the shelf lives of all the 3 Treatments.

D. Significance of The Study

The results of this study provided additional insight into the probability of using

Tagetes erecta as an alternative mosquito repellant in observation of efficacy. This study

could provide potential users with an alternative repellant that is cheap, safe, and easy to

produce.
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

E. Scope and Limitation

This research focuses on discovering more of the plant’s capabilities and its efficiency in

repelling mosquitoes while being a safe product to humans. Related studies and research

on the internet will be used as a reference in finding out what would possibly be the best

thing to do, in order to advance in creating such a repellant. This research will only focus

on what the Marigold plant itself can do and its parts that can be used as a whole.

F. Review of Related Literature and Studies

Nature can be both a blessing and a curse to all of us depending on the way we use it, but

most of the time however, it’s not for good purposes. As with the bright side, comes along the

cons of such, when we have bees and butterflies, so come the mosquitos and flies, the ultimate

harbingers of death. With the advent of the commercialized repellants, though albeit effective,

poses way too much danger especially when there is human contact.

The medicinal effects that various plants have been discovered from has been nothing but

helpful to us humans. Plants have existed as far as the world has been, and it has been a major

aid towards human evolution throughout the years. Physicians of the olden ages have

experimented with how plants can do such things, and has resulted in various cures and poisons

that’d end up contributing to how the medical world is like today. Some plants in particular

though can give quite the strong physiological reaction to the human body, and would also

produce varying side-effects that would either be detrimental or not. The discovery of its benefits

led to various ways of using the plant itself, the discovery and the development of various forms of
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

the plant itself led to contributing to the world of botany However, the efficacy of such plant extracts has

not been proved yet (Silveira, et al., 2009).

Plant-based repellants have been around for generations as it was mainly the traditional

way of repelling mosquitos in the early human history. Through this, it has been proved that such

knowledge obtained on botanical studies is a valuable resource for product development. As it

has been discovered long ago that plants contain certain compounds or ingredients that can

particularly perform such actions, it has been sought out by scientists to test its limits and

improve it.

Moreover, as plants were mainly used for medicine long ago, more and more uses came

into light as more developments were made, along with the help of a particular kind of

ethnobotany was made by each particular culture that is focused on medicine, this is mainly the

targeted search for medicinal plants through in-depth interviews with key informants

knowledgeable in folklore and traditional medicine (Maia, Moore, 2011).

Knowledge alone of traditional plants and how to use them can prove to be a significantly

useful skill as it can aid one in creating various natural products that would barely have any side-

effects when used by humans. Many studies have also shown to prove itself that plant extracts or

essential oils are useful repellants worldwide. As stated here, knowledge of usage of medicinal

plants are vital in order to break down walls, and reach the bottleneck of medical treatment, as

using natural plants as an alternative to such things can be more helpful than the classic

commercialized version, which has tons of chemicals that are helpful in repelling insects but is

harmful to the human body when it comes in contact with it.

Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

The researchers gathered necessary data of Marigold, and information about repellants,

for the success of the study in providing benefit for the people that will possibly use the product

and for fellow students so they can have access and manage to improve from it.

METHODOLOGY

A. Research Locale

The study will be conducted at the researcher’s house at Al - Jahra Village, Sta. Maria,

Zamboanga City. The researchers decided to do the experiment at home because of the

pandemic.

B. Research Design

After-only with Control was used to layout the mosquito specimen with 3 treatments and

2 replicates.

C. General Procedure

The researchers will gather marigold plants, then separate the leaves from its stem. The

researchers will then blend the leaves and group them in 3 separate batches same with the stem

of the marigold. Each of the 3 separate batches will be placed in 8 inches of gauze then rolled

tightly to hold its shape then left in a cool dry place too dry.

Storage of Mosquito Coil

Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

DOCUMENTATIONS

1. Gathering of materials, and separating them (Stems and leaves):

2. Cutting the stem to fit the blender(stem)

grinding the leaves using the Mortar and
pestle:
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

3. Blending the stem and leaves and separating them in 3 equal batches:

4. Placing the batches of stem / leaves in 10

inch of gauze:

5. Leaving them in a cool dry place to

dry:
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

Flowchart:
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

Subjects subjected to different kinds of treatments were then examined.

Different Treatments Shelf Life

1. Treatment 1 60 days

2. Treatment 2 60 days

3. Treatment 3 1 Year

Table 1 shows Treatments 1 and 2 made of Tagetes erecta stem and leaves can last up to 2

months or even more. The shelf life of the mosquito repellant from Tagetes erecta, both leaves

and stem are not as long as the shelf life of commercialized products, but it can be used as an

alternative repellant not only for personal use but for marketing too, since the repellant from the

Marigold is cheap, abundant, safe, and effective.

Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

CONCLUSION

Treatment 1 and 2 composed of Tagetes erecta has a shelf life of 60 days. Based on the

analysis of the results and findings, it came out that Treatment 2 composed of Tagetes erecta

stems is best in repelling mosquitoes as it was able to affect 2 mosquitos effectively. Treatment 1

composed of Tagetes erecta leaves was able to repel 1 mosquito effectively with repetition,

though not as great as Treatment 2, Treatment 2 composed of Tagetes erecta stem being the most

effective mosquito repellant which was able to effectively repel 2 mosquitoes with repetition, the

mosquitoes having stayed on the left box. This only justifies that Tagetes erecta stem is

comparable to the commercialized repellants being used nowadays. This will really help

researches out there that involve working on repellants without harming the researchers and at

the same time being economic, abundant, eco-friendly, easy to prepare, and effective.

RECOMMENDATIONS

For those who would like to conduct more comprehensive investigation, the researcher would

recommend the following:

1.) Use other specimens other than the mosquitos.

2.) To conduct a study wherein Ants will be used to compared.

3.) Use other resources for making repellants which are comparable to Tagetes erecta

(Marigold/Ahito) flowers.
Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Internet:

1.) Gauri Karwani, & Siddhraj S. Sisodia. (2015). Tagetes erecta plant: Review with significant

pharmacological activities. World Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 3(6), 1180–1183.

Retrieved from http://wjpsonline.com/index.php/wjps/article/view/tagetes-erecta-plant-pharmacological-

activities

2.) Asadollahi, A., Khoobdel, M., Zahraei-Ramazani, A., Azarmi, S., & Mosawi, S. H. (2019).

Effectiveness of plant-based repellents against different Anopheles species: a systematic review.

Malaria journal, 18(1), 436.

Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-3064-8

Journal:

3.) Maia, M.F. and Moore, S.J. (2011) Plant-Based Insect Repellents: A Review of Their

Efficacy, Development and Testing. Malaria Journal, 10, S11.

Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-s1-s11

Marigold Stem and leaves as Mosquito Repellant

APPENDICES

A. Proposal Budget

1. 2 marigold plants PHP 0

2. Gauze PHP 50

3. Boxes PHP 0

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher wishes to express his deepest gratitude and warmest appreciation to the

following people, who, in any way have contributed and inspired the researchers to the overall

success of the undertaking:

⮚ My Research adviser Ms. Angel Ladrera for sharing her knowledge towards the success of this

study.

⮚ My beloved parents who have always been very understanding and supporting me both

financially and emotionally.

⮚ My understanding friends, who have been extending their efforts to help;

⮚ And above all, to the Almighty God, who never stops guiding me and for the continued

protection