Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is an herb from the mint family. When cats sniff it, nepetalactone chemical bonds to receptors in their noses and activates sensory neurons that lead into their brains, inducing an exhilarating wave of activity such as rubbing their faces or bodies in it, rolling around in it or chewing it up! This leads to all sorts of behaviors such as rubbing their bodies against it or even rolling it up their paws and chewing it until eventually it wears off.
Nepetalactone
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is well known for inducing felines into an intoxicated and playful state of blissful delight. This response is brought on by a natural chemical called nepetalactone, which stimulates sensory neurons within their noses and brains. Nepetalactone attaches to receptors in nasal passages before sending signals through to parts of their limbic system such as amygdala and hypothala which control emotions – usually lasting approximately 15 minutes before returning back into equilibrium a couple hours later.
Nepetalactone is a type of terpenoid chemical compound, belonging to the family of chemicals known as terpenoids that includes other essential oils like peppermint. Terpenoid compounds have many uses from food flavoring to insect repellent – recently, research showed that just nepetalactone alone proved 10x more effective at repelling mosquitoes than DEET alone!
But what makes nepetalactone so effective? One theory suggests it mimics pheromones used by other animals to communicate among themselves; another explanation could be its impact on neurotransmitters in cats’ brains, inhibiting normal activity and creating feelings of euphoria. Whatever its underlying mechanism may be, however, it appears to work: between 70 to 80% of cats respond positively to catnip – this response being genetically determined as kittens and very old cats may be less susceptible.
People can benefit from using catnip as an effective and sustainable insect repellent that has few adverse reactions compared to synthetic pyrethrins or DEET. Plus, harvesting and processing it is relatively inexpensive and straightforward.
Scientists have recently unlocked the complex biosynthesis process that produces nepetalactone in catnip plants, for the first time mapping this complex molecular pathway and giving insight into how other plants produce other important drugs like vinblastine used for chemotherapy treatment.
Though nepetalactone can effectively repel mosquitoes, its effect on other insects such as flies is limited; likely due to it being produced by plants as a defense mechanism against sap-sucking herbivores like aphids; they tend to feed on catnip leaves and stems but when exposed to the scent of nepetalactone they become repulsed by its scent and avoid it; interestingly enough it also has similar results with some fungi, possibly explaining why catnip attracts predators like the lacewing fly that feed off its leaves and stems!