耶鲁大学研究团队对43种水果和蔬菜做了植物化学分析，并以常在食物上交配的果蝇作模型，检验哪些天然化合物会干扰飞行害虫的繁殖。结果显示，样品中没有一种果蔬具有明显的催情作用，但大蒜却能完全阻断交配与产卵，说明“蒜味驱蚊”并非民间传说，而是有实验依据的现象。

为找出机制，研究者分别让果蝇只能闻到蒜泥、或既能闻到也能尝到蒜泥；真正抑制繁殖的是味觉而非嗅觉。随后化学分析锁定二烯丙基二硫化物（diallyl disulfide）为关键成分，它作用于果蝇味觉器官中的TrpA1受体，激活含有该受体的苦味神经元，引发回避反应，并改变多种基因表达，其中包括与饱腹感相关的基因。

这一机制似乎通过增强饱腹感，干扰昆虫的摄食、交配与生殖，且对雌性影响尤为明显。研究还在另外两种传播黄热病、登革热和寨卡病毒的蚊子，以及采采蝇中重复验证，均观察到大蒜可有效抑制繁殖。作者认为，廉价、全球广泛种植的Allium sativum有望成为控制害虫、保护公共健康与农业的实用工具。

A Yale University team analyzed 43 fruits and vegetables to look for natural compounds that disrupt the reproductive behavior of flying pest insects, using fruit flies as a model because they often mate on food. None of the tested foods showed a significant aphrodisiac effect, but garlic completely blocked mating and egg laying, giving scientific support to the long-standing idea that garlic repels mosquitoes and other insects.

To identify the mechanism, the researchers separated smell from taste exposure and found that taste, not smell, was what inhibited reproduction. Chemical analysis pinpointed diallyl disulfide as the active compound, acting on the fly taste receptor TrpA1. This receptor triggers immediate rejection of noxious tastes, and garlic also altered gene expression, including genes linked to satiety, appetite, and feeding.

The effect appears to increase satiety and reduce mating and reproduction, especially in females. The finding was replicated in two mosquito species that transmit yellow fever, dengue, and Zika virus, as well as in tsetse flies. The authors suggest that Allium sativum, a low-cost crop grown worldwide, could become a practical tool for controlling insect pests that harm human health and agriculture.