Tea tree oil, also known as melaleuca oil or ti tree oil, is an essential oil with a fresh camphoraceous odor and a colour that ranges from pale yellow to nearly colourless and clear. It is taken from the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia, which is native to Southeast Queensland and the Northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Tea tree oil is toxic when taken by mouth, but is widely used in low concentrations in cosmetics and skin washes. In folk medicine, tea tree oil is considered useful for treating various medical conditions, such as skin conditions, including dandruff, acne, lice, herpes, and other infections. However, the quality of the evidence for effectiveness in these conditions is low. Tea tree oil is not recommended for oral consumption, for treating fungal infections, or for any childhood conditions.
Video Tea tree oil
Uses
Although tea tree oil has been used in traditional medicine, little evidence supports these uses. Tea tree oil is not recommended for treating nail fungus, as the evidence for its effectiveness is weak, and does not suggest it would outperform conventional treatments.
Tea tree oil is not recommended for treating head lice in children because its safety has not been established and it could cause skin irritation or allergic reactions.
Maps Tea tree oil
Safety
Tea tree oil is poisonous when taken internally, possibly causing drowsiness, confusion, hallucinations, coma, unsteadiness, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach upset, blood cell abnormalities, and severe rashes. Tea tree oil should not be used in or around the mouth.
A 2006 review of the toxicity of tea tree oil concluded that it may be used externally in its diluted form by the majority of individuals without adverse effect (provided oxidation is avoided). Topical application of tea tree oil can cause adverse reactions at high concentration. Adverse effects can include skin irritation, allergic contact dermatitis, systemic contact dermatitis, linear immunoglobulin A disease, erythema multiforme like reactions, and systemic hypersensitivity reactions.
Some people experience allergic contact dermatitis as a reaction to skin contact with tea tree oil. Allergic reactions may be due to the various oxidation products that are formed by exposure of the oil to light and/or air. Oxidized tea tree oil poses safety concerns.
Pets
In dogs and cats, death or transient signs of toxicity (lasting 2 to 3 days), such as depression, weakness, incoordination and muscle tremors, have been reported after external application at high doses. In rats the median lethal dose (LD50) is 1.9-2.4 ml/kg.
Composition and characteristics
Tea tree oil is defined by the International Standard ISO 4730 ("Oil of Melaleuca, Terpinen-4-ol type"), which specifies levels of 15 components needed to define an oil as "tea tree oil." The oil has been described as having a fresh, camphor-like smell.
Tea tree oils come in six different chemical combinations: a terpinen-4-ol type, a terpinolene type, and four 1,8-cineole types. These various oil types contain over 98 compounds, with terpinen-4-ol as a major component. A second component 1,8-cineole, is likely responsible for most adverse reactions to tea tree oil products. Adverse reactions diminish with minimization of 1,8-cineole content. In commercial production, the oil is prepared as a terpinen-4-ol type.
History and extraction
The name tea tree is used for several plants, mostly from Australia and New Zealand, from the family Myrtaceae, related to the myrtle. The use of the name probably originated from Captain James Cook's description of one of these shrubs that he used to make an infusion, to drink in place of tea.
The commercial tea tree oil industry originated in the 1920s when Arthur Penfold, an Australian, investigated the business potential of a number of native extracted oils; he reported that tea tree oil had promise, as it exhibited powerful antiseptic properties.
Tea tree oil was first extracted from Melaleuca alternifolia in Australia, and this species remains the most important commercially. In the 1970s and 1980s, commercial plantations began to produce large quantities of tea tree oil from Melaleuca alternifolia. Many of these plantations are located in New South Wales. Since the 1970s and 1980s, the industry expanded to include several other species for their extracted oil: Melaleuca armillaris and Melaleuca styphelioides in Tunisia and Egypt; Melaleuca leucadendra in Egypt, Malaysia and Vietnam; Melaleuca acuminata in Tunisia; Melaleuca ericifolia in Egypt; and Melaleuca quinquenervia in the United States. Similar oils can also be produced by water distillation from Melaleuca linariifolia and Melaleuca dissitiflora.
Research
According to the American Cancer Society, "despite years of use, available clinical evidence does not support the effectiveness of tea tree oil for treating skin problems and infections in humans." Other uses that have been researched include applications for nail fungus, dandruff, acne, and athlete's foot, but the evidence is of poor quality.
See also
- Cajeput oil -- derived from Melaleuca leucadendra
References
External links
- Mayo Clinic - Tea tree oil
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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