Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil is a yellow- or green-tinged essential oilwith a fresh camphoraceousodour. It is extracted from the leavesof the treeMelaleuca alternifolia which is native to the northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia. The oil is claimed to have benefical cosmeticand medicalproperties (including antisepticand antifungalaction).

Note that the term "tea tree oil" is somewhat of a misnomer, since Melaleuca alternifolia is a paperbarkrather than a tea tree(genus Leptospermum). Tea tree oil should also not be confused with tea oil, the sweetish seasoning and cooking oil from pressed seeds of the tea plant Camellia sinensis or the tea oil plant Camellia oleifera.

History and extraction

Australian Aborigineshave used oil extracted from the tree's needlesfor hundreds of years. Currently, tea tree oil is obtained by steam distillationof the leaves. Of the over 100 compoundscontained in the oil, terpinen-4-olis responsible for most of the antimicrobial actions. The international standard ISO4730 ("Oil of Melaleuca, Terpinen-4-ol type") specifies levels of 14 components of the oil.

Usage

Preliminary scientific research (mainly in vitro) supports claims for various health benefits. Inhaled, tea tree oil is said to make breathing easier by "breaking up congestion". It supposedly can alleviate a sore throat and minimize the symptomsof cold, fluand systemic fungal infections. It seems effective against candidiasisand other vaginal infectionsand for hemorrhoids. As a bath additive it may control bacteriain spas and pools. For fungal nail infections, application is twice daily and relief or cure is typically seen in 3?4 months in contrast with the currently accepted medicine which requires costly prescriptions and is taken internally daily for up to a year. Tea tree oil also is used for athlete's foot, foul body odour, burning feet, etc. Massaging diluted tea tree oil into the affected area may alleviate the discomfort of sore muscles or joint injuries. It also reduces hypertrophic scarring. Tea tree oil has been found to kill Propionibacterium acnes; the main cause of acne vulgarisboth in vitroand in vivo. Tea tree oil has thus been clinically tested for efficacy compared with benzoyl peroxideto prevent acne; and although it seemed somewhat less effective, it nevertherless had lower rates of irritation.

Safety

Tea tree oil is used almost exclusively externally. A patch test is advisable before using items containing tea tree oil, since it can be allergenicand cause skin irritation or rash.

Tea tree oil is toxic if ingested internally, and may result in dizziness, nauseaand disorientation.

Added Notes Tea Tree Oil is hard to find in many commercial face cleansing pads.

External links

• Tea Tree Oil Research Group, University of Western Australia.
• HerbMed
• Tea Tree Oil Knowledge Center

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea+tree+oil Wikipedia article Tea tree oil.