Anti-Mosquito Body Wash

In many parts of the world, mosquitoes are more than just a nuisance — they can be carriers of serious diseases such as dengue fever, which, according to the CDC, infects up to 400 million people annually and is a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics. More than one-third of the world’s population lives in areas that are at high risk for dengue, and with no available vaccines, the best defense against contracting the disease is to avoid mosquito bites. This prompted students at a Vietnamese boarding school to look for a solution.

Borrowing on their knowledge of local flora, the students decided to start with a type of lemon grass (known as sa chanh) that was purported to be useful for driving away mosquitoes and treating certain skin disorders. The students determined that the plants reach their peak for oil extraction at about four months, so a 40-square-meter plot of land on the school campus was devoted to growing the grass, allowing them to harvest at the optimum time. With the help of their chemistry teacher, in a laboratory only 4 square meters in size, the students successfully extracted the oil, which was then blended into a body wash.

The extracted oil has been certified for quality by the Lam Dong Science and Technology Department, and the resulting product meets thirteen criteria for body wash as established by the Ministry of Science and Technology. The students have received several awards and are producing the body wash on a small scale. They hope to continue their research into using the sa chanh oil for other cleaners as well as topical medicines.