The volatility and mosquito repellency of the essential oil of Hemizygia welwitschii Rolfe (Laminaceae) and its prototype pharmaceutical formulations were examined and compared with those of a commercial mosquito repellent. At ambient temperature (28°C), neat Hemizygia oil had a volatility of 4.47±1.02 mg/cm2/ h for 15 hours, after which the rate declined. The oil evaporated at 200 μg/ cm2/ h from 10% w/w liquid paraffin solutions, and at 60 μg/ cm2/ h from soft paraffin during the first 20 hours, after which the decline in evaporation rate was generally bi-phasic. The oil demonstrated concentration-dependent repellency against the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Its liquid paraffin solutions (5% to 15% concentration) prevented up to 50% of starved mosquitoes from feeding on a blood meal for 6 hours. Lower concentrations were less effective and inhibited feeding for only 1 hour. A 15% w/w oil-in-water emulsion formulation of Hemizygia oil produced 55% feeding deterrence in the mosquitoes for 2 hours. Neither the solution nor the emulsion formulations of the oil provoked any adverse reaction on human skin.
