While the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some of these compounds for use as food additives,[citation needed] cinnamyl anthranilate is banned by the FDA.
[1] The compounds repel both fruit flies and mosquitos, and target the same neurons that respond to DEET.
[2] DMA and EA repel mosquitos from feeding on humans, while EA and BA repel them from depositing eggs in water.
[3][4] The compounds were the only ones among approximately 500,000 that activated those receptors and were from natural sources that were already approved by the FDA for use as food additives.
[2] The compounds are being evaluated for human use as mosquito repellents and also for use in agriculture.