Control of dust mites and allergen avoidance

Abstract

In Leeuwenhoek’s account of probably the first documented experiment on acaricides, he describes how he discovered the toxic effect was due to a volatile substance evaporating from the nut (Figure 9.1). Incidentally, nutmeg and nutmeg oil have been used traditionally as an insecticide (Norman, 1990; Y. Huang et al., 1997). Nutmeg is only one of several plant-associated acaricides that have been examined for their ability to control domestic mites. Some, like caffeine (Russell et al., 1991), nicotine, phenyl salicylate and azadirachtin (derived from the neem tree, Azadirachta indica), have got no further than laboratory or field testing. Others, such as pyrethroids (synthetic analogues of compounds from the pyrethrum daisy) and benzyl benzoate (from Peru balsam) have been deployed in clinical trials. Tannic acid has been used as an allergen denaturant, and tea-tree oil and eucalyptus oil have been used as laundry additives (McDonald and Tovey, 1993; Tovey et al., 2001).