When exposed to catnip or silver vine, they engage in fairly predictable behaviors, such as licking and chewing the leaves, rubbing their heads and faces against the plants, and rolling on the ground. Cats get a real chance out of these plants, but surprising new research suggests a more practical goal than just wanting to grow tall.
Nepetalactol – the strongest active ingredient in catnip (Nepeta cataria) and silver vine (Actinidia polygama) —Provide cats chemical defense against mosquitoes, according to new research published in Science Advances. The discovery may explain why cats, whether domestic cats or helpless predators, exhibit similar behavior after being exposed to these plants.
The new research, led by Masao Miyazaki of Iwate University in Japan, offers new insights into nepetalactol and how it affects feline behavior and their opioid receptors. That nepetalactol deterring mosquitoes is a wonderful revelation, and according to the researchers, it could result in a whole new class of insect repellent. Nepetalactol was previously associated with mosquito repellent activity, but “our data is the first to show it,” Miyazaki explained in an email.
What’s more, the new article is the ‘first to show that nepetalactol is a powerful bioactive compound for cats.’ It is indeed no secret that the chemical has a kind of neurological effect on cats, but contains catnip, a plant from the mint family, and silver vine, a kind of kiwifruit an abundance of other bioactive compounds, such as isoiridomyrmecin, iridomyrmecin, isodihydronepetalactone, and dihydronepetalactone. Miyazaki and his colleagues, including researchers from Nagoya University in Japan and the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, focused on nepetalactol because of its perceived potential.
After coming into contact with catnip and silver vine, they sometimes adopt stereotypical behaviors, such as rubbing their heads and faces against the plants, rolling on the ground, and giving the impression of euphoria. It takes about five up to 15 minutes and is followed by the accident phase, in which the cats sit for about an hour or longer. The effect these plants have on cats has been known for centuries, but scientists do not understand the purpose of it all, as a biological or evolutionary reason for it – if they assume that it not just a strange coincidence that has to do with the feline brain.
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For more information, the team studied a number of different cats, including 25 laboratory cats, 30 feral cats, and several large cats in captivity, including leopards, jaguars, and lynx. They documented the cats reactions to filter paper cut with nepetalactol. Awill the cats showed the classic behavioral response. Dogs and mice exposed to the chemical showed no reaction.
The scientists also studied the cats’ reactions to some of the other bioactive agents found in silver vines nepetalactol to be the strongest.
“This study found that … nepetalactol is the major bioactive compound in the leaves of silver vines that causes characteristic rubbing and rolling in cats,” the authors write in their study. ‘Furthermore, nepetalactol had similar bioactivity in Amur leopard, jaguar and Eurasian lynx. Like most of the [feline] species tested so far have shown positive responses to catnip (13 of 21 species tested out of a total of 41 living species in this family), it is likely that this characteristic response to [felines]. ”
The group also measured the endorphin levels of the cats before and after exposure, and found that the cat response to nepetalactol is regulated by their opioid system; elevated levels of endorphins were only observed after exposure to nepetalactol. What’s more, when scientists suppressed their opioid receptors with special drugs, the cats no longer displayed their characteristic behavior when exposed to the chemical.
As for silver vine’s role as a possible repellent for mosquitoes, the researchers found that cats with fur covered with nepetalactol attracted significantly fewer mosquitoes, specifically the species A. albopictus, if the untreated control group—in some cases by as much as half.
‘These results show that nepetalactol, which is transferred to silver grape leaves to face and head fur, acts as a repellent against A. albopictus in cats, ”write the authors. “This is convincing evidence that the characteristic rubbing and rolling reaction functions to transmit chemicals that repel mosquitoes to cats.”
This, according to the authors, may explain why the behavior evolved. The cats get high on these plants, roll around in the leaves and are subconsciously protected from mosquitoes. This theory is very meaningful, but scientists now need to explain why this behavior is not seen in other animals, and whether the repellent actually happens in nature, not just in labs. We also need to determine if nepetalactol repels A. aegypti, the mosquito responsible for the spread of yellow fever, dengue and Zika.
Miyazaki said there could be a very good reason why cats developed this special relationship with catnip and silver vine. Many cats ‘rely on a sneak to stalk their prey and lure in an ambush’, requiring them to remain quiet and quiet, he said. A repellent that reduces the susceptibility to both the irritation of biting mosquitoes and the diseases that these insect vectors carry will likely offer a strong selective benefit. “This explains why this trait has been retained by many cat species, but it does not explain why the behavior developed only in cats,” Miyazaki said.
One possible explanation is that an ancestor of modern cats developed special odor receptors Miyazaki, may have been an ‘important pre-adaptation’ that provided the opportunity to develop this behavior.
Looking ahead, the team wants to identify the olfactory receptors linked to nepetalactol the genes responsible for the behavior. According to Miyazaki, team members tested nepetalactol on their arms, and this apparently kept the mosquitoes away. But it ‘is for patent data only,’ he said.
Ah yes, the almighty dollar. But it’s a case in which good science can lead to a good and welcome commercial product. Indeed, the researchers may have come up with a new type of mosquito repellent, but time will tell if it actually works better than conventional repellents. and if it makes economic and practical sense to synthesize this compound in large quantities.