Intoxicating Chemicals in Catnip Don’t Just Give Cats Joy – They Help Repel Mosquitoes

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Cat Catnip

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Catnip and silver vine have actually been referred to as feline attractant plants. Cat fans utilize dry leaves of these plants and toys packed with the leaves to offer pleasure to their animal felines. But how does this work? What is the biological significance of the responsive habits? A research study group at Iwate University, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, and University of Liverpool discovered that the habits had more useful factors than getting ecstasy.

“The first appearance of silver vine (“Matatabi” in Japanese) as a feline attractant in literature in Japan goes back to more than 300 years back. A folklore Ukiyo-e attracted 1859 reveals a group of mice attempting to lure some felines with an odor of silver vine. Still, advantages of the felines’ action had actually stayed unidentified.” states Prof. Masao Miyazaki of Iwate University, a leader of the research study job.

The research study group initially recognized the active component of silver vine that causes the action. They separated compounds from extract of silver vine leaves and administrated each of them to felines to analyze the action. The experiment exposed that nepetalactol, an unique compound, the majority of highly causes the particular habits.

“We applied nepetalactol to laboratory paper filters and tested with eighteen laboratory and seventeen feral cats. They displayed the typical response to silver vine. We also tested the substance with larger, non-domestic cats (jaguar, Amur leopard, and Eurasian lynx). They showed a similar reaction. We concluded nepetalactol is responsible for the typical feline reaction to silver vine,” stated Reiko Uenoyama, the paper’s very first author.

The second crucial finding by the scientists is the biological system of the action by feline animals to silver vine. They assumed that the μ-opioid system, which is related to blissful results in human beings, is triggered with the plant. “We tested β-endorphin levels before and after nepetalactol-induced response in cat blood. We found that silver vine activates the nervous system that is responsible for the euphorigenic reaction,” stated Miyazaki.

Does this mean felines have fun with silver vine to get ecstasy? Alternatively, does silver vine has another function to felines? The research study group thought that the plant has another biologically crucial function as the response was currently displayed in feline animals when they developed from other types about 10 million years back.

Cat Silver Vine

A feline reacts to silver vine leaves. Credit: Masao Miyazaki & Reiko Uenoyama

“On the basis of some reports that nepetalactone, the feline attractant in catnip, has mosquito repellent activity, we thought that the response allows cats to transfer plant’s nepetalactol or nepetalactone on their fur for protection against mosquitoes. This led to a strong hypothesis when we found the mosquito repellent activity of nepetalactol.” stated Uenoyama.

To analyze whether felines actively move nepetalactol, the research study group positioned paper filters with nepetalactol on various parts of the feline cage (flooring, walls and ceiling). Although felines rubbed their faces and heads on the paper no matter the location of the nepetalactol paper, they did disappoint the common rolling when the paper was put on a wall or ceiling. When felines rubbed versus the nepetalactol paper, the compound was moved to their faces and heads, showing that the most crucial function of rubbing habits is to use the chemical to these parts of feline fur.

“Next, we tested the mosquito repellent property of nepetalactol on cats. We counted the numbers of mosquitoes landing on cat heads with and without application of nepetalactol. The mosquitoes landed less on the nepetalactol heads. To see whether mosquitoes react the same in a more natural setting, we compared the mosquito reaction between cats that responded to silver vine leaves and nonresponsive cats. Mosquitoes avoided the responsive cats. From these results, we found that the cats’ reaction to silver vine is chemical defense against mosquitoes, and perhaps against viruses and parasitic insects. This was the most significant finding of our study,” stated Miyazaki.

Miyazaki and his coworkers see lots of possibilities to utilize the findings in research study and useful application. “Why is this reaction limited to cats? Why don’t non-feline animals react to the plant? To find answers, we want to identify the gene responsible for the reaction. The findings of this study may be used in various applications, including development of new mosquito repellant products.”

Reference: 20 January 2021, Science Advances.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd9135