Potential power of tea tree oil released

Now, their attention has turned to tea tree oil – an essential oil known for its powerful action against a broad spectrum of bacteria and other microorganisms. Many use tea tree oil as a generalpurpose household remedy. Although not permitted as a pharmaceutical in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, tea tree oil can be used in cosmetics. All the same, tea tree oil has certain drawbacks that prevent its use in cosmetics. For one thing, it is highly volatile. As soon as the container is opened, a considerable amount of the tea tree oil evaporates and the benefit is lost. Many are also put off by the oil’s pungent smell. Moreover, tea tree oil is sensitive to oxidation. This process produces compounds that can trigger local skin irritations and contact allergies. For these reasons, product developers have been wary of using tea tree oil. Many of the potential applications for this essential oil proved impracticable – until Wacker succeeded in solving the problem.

 Natural complexity

Tea tree oil is extracted from the leaves and branch tips of the Australian tea tree of the genus Melaleuca alternifolia by steam distillation. The colourless to pale yellowish-green oil has a characteristic, spicy smell redolent of eucalyptus, camphor and nutmeg. Tea tree oil evaporates quickly, i.e. it is highly volatile. This type of essential oil, unlike fatty oils such as sunflower oil, does not leave greasy stains on paper or textiles. Like all essential oils, tea tree oil is a complex mixture of substances. It comprises over 100 compounds, about 60 of which have been identified so far. Tea tree oil’s chief constituents include the monoterpenes terpinen-4-ol, ?-terpinene and ?-terpinene. The oil’s composition is influenced by many factors, such as the variety of tea tree, its location and prevalent climatic conditions, the age of the harvested leaves, and the time of harvest. Even the distillation procedure affects the oil composition. Tea tree oils with a high terpinen-4-ol content are considered especially effective, biologically speaking. What we know about tea tree oil’s antimicrobial effects ultimately dates back to the Australian Aborigines. They traditionally live in the northern part of present-day New South Wales – the tea tree’s natural habitat – and have been using tea tree leaves for medicinal purposes since ancient times. The oil’s antiseptic effect was first investigated by scientists in the 1920s. They found that tea tree oil’s disinfecting action was about eleven times as strong as that of phenol, which was the most powerful disinfectant in common use at that time. In the 1940s, this traditional remedy lost ground to modern antibiotics such as penicillin. When it was shown in the 1970s that bacteria could develop resistance to modern antibiotics, the time was ripe for tea tree oil’s renaissance. Recent lab studies and clinical trials confirm the antimicrobial activity of terpinen-4-ol-rich tea tree oil. They showed that tea tree oil is also effective against bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics. Additionally, it is unlikely that bacteria will build up resistance to tea tree oil. Our natural skin bacteria are less sensitive to tea tree oil than pathogenic organisms.