# Bay leaf extract is a chemotaxis repellent for C. elegans

## TL;DR

Bay leaf extract repels the nematode C. elegans, with cadinene and eugenol identified as the key compounds causing this repulsion.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific compounds in bay leaf extract that repel C. elegans and demonstrates their use in an educational setting.

## Key findings

- C. elegans avoids bay leaf extract in chemotaxis assays.
- Cadinene and eugenol are key compounds responsible for the repulsion effect.
- The experiments were conducted by undergraduate students in a research course.

## Abstract

Plants synthesize compounds that modulate animal nervous systems through various mechanisms, but the key interactions remain understudied. We used chemotaxis assays with the nematode
Caenorhabditis elegans
to test if plant extracts can be detected by the worm nervous system and which compounds induce behavioral responses. We found that
C. elegans
avoid the extract of bay leaves (
Laurus nobilis
). Subsequent testing of known bay leaf compounds identified cadinene and eugenol as key molecules that may mediate the repulsion effect. These experiments were conducted by undergraduate students in an upper-division laboratory course, providing practical research experiences and new insights into plant-animal interactions.