Discover all the benefits of Melaleuca
PLANT TYPE: Malaleuca or Tea Tree
ORIGIN: Most melaleucas are endemic to Australia , with a few also occurring in Malaysia . Seven are endemic to New Caledonia and one is found only on Lord Howe Island (Australia).
USES: Anti-Inflammatory, Antiseptic, Anti-Fungal, Anti-Viral, Oral Health
Essential Oils
Melaleuca alternifolia is known for its essential oil which is both antifungal and antibiotic, while it can be safely used for topical applications. This is produced on a commercial scale and marketed as Tea Tree oil. Melaleuca cajuputi is used to produce a similar oil, known as cajuput oil, which is used in Southeast Asia to treat a variety of infections and to add fragrance to food and soaps.
The Benefits and Uses
Antibacterial | The oil has been used for nearly 100 years as a healing treatment in Australia, particularly for skin conditions. Today it is used for a variety of conditions.
Tea tree oil is probably best known for its antibacterial activity.
Some research suggests that the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity associated with the oil comes from its ability to damage bacterial cell walls. More research is needed to understand how this might work.
Antiviral | Some studies show that tea tree oil may help treat certain viruses, but research is limited in this area.
Contact Dermatitis | Contact dermatitis is a form of eczema caused by contact with an irritant or allergen. Several treatments for contact dermatitis have been compared, including tea tree oil, zinc oxide, and clobetasone butyrate.
The results suggest that tea tree oil was more effective in suppressing allergic contact dermatitis than other treatments. However, it had no effect on irritant contact dermatitis.
Keep in mind that tea tree oil itself can induce allergic contact dermatitis in some people.
Dandruff and Cradle Cap | Mild to moderate dandruff related to the yeast Pityrosporum ovale can be treated with 5% tea tree oil, according to one study. People with dandruff who used a 5% tea tree oil shampoo daily for 4 weeks showed significant improvements in overall severity, as well as itching and oiliness levels, compared to a placebo.
Participants had no adverse effects. Another study found that tea tree oil shampoo was effective for treating infants with cradle cap. It is possible to be allergic to tea tree oil. To test for a reaction, put a little shampoo on your child's forearm and rinse. If there is no reaction within 24-48 hours, it should be safe to use.
Anti-Inflammatory | Tea tree oil may help calm inflammation, likely due to its high concentration of terpinen-4-ol, a compound with anti-inflammatory properties.
In animal tests, terpinen-4-ol was found to suppress inflammatory activity in oral infections. In humans, tea tree oil applied topically reduced swelling of histamine-induced skin inflammation more effectively than paraffin oil.
Acne | The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health advises that research on the effects of tea tree oil applied topically in people is limited. However, the oil may be helpful for a variety of skin conditions.
Acne is the most common skin condition, affecting up to 50 million Americans at any one time. One study found a significant difference between tea tree oil gel and a placebo in treating acne. Participants treated with tea tree oil saw improvements in both total acne count and acne severity. This builds on previous research comparing 5% tea tree oil gel to 5% benzoyl peroxide lotion in treating mild to moderate acne. Both treatments significantly reduced the number of acne lesions, although tea tree oil worked more slowly. Those using tea tree oil experienced fewer side effects.
Lice | Lice are becoming more resistant to medical treatments, so experts are increasingly looking at essential oils as alternatives.
The study compared tea tree oil and nerolidol, a natural compound found in some essential oils, in treating head lice. Tea tree oil was more effective at killing lice, eradicating 100 percent of them after 30 minutes. On the other hand, nerolidol was more effective at killing eggs. A combination of both substances, at a ratio of 1 part to 2, worked best at destroying both lice and eggs. Other research found that a combination of tea tree oil and lavender oil was effective at “suffocating.”
Anti-Fungus | A review of tea tree oil's effectiveness highlights its ability to kill a variety of yeasts and fungi. Most of the studies reviewed focus on Candida albicans, a type of yeast that commonly affects the skin, genitals, throat, and mouth.
Other research suggests that terpinen-4-ol enhances the activity of fluconazole, a common antifungal drug, in resistant strains of Candida albicans.
Athlete's Foot | Symptoms of athlete's foot, or tinea pedis, were reduced by applying a topical tea tree oil cream, according to one study. A 10 percent tea tree oil cream appeared to reduce symptoms as effectively as 1 percent tolnaftate, an antifungal medication. However, tea tree oil was no more effective than a placebo in achieving a complete cure. More recent research compared higher concentrations of tea tree oil on athlete's foot with a placebo. Significant improvement in symptoms was seen in 68 percent of people who used a 50 percent tea tree oil application, with 64 percent achieving complete cure. This was more than double the improvement seen in the placebo group.
Nail Fungus | Fungal infections are a common cause of nail abnormalities. They can be difficult to treat. One study compared the effects of a cream containing both 5% tea tree oil and 2% butenafine hydrochloride (a synthetic antifungal) to a placebo. After 16 weeks, nail fungus was cured in 80% of people. No cases in the placebo group were cured. Another study showed that tea tree oil was effective in eliminating nail fungus in a laboratory.
However, this research does not definitively prove that the tea tree oil component of the cream is responsible for the improvements experienced, so further research is needed.
Oral Health | A gel containing tea tree oil may be helpful for people with chronic gingivitis, an inflammatory disease of the gums.
Study participants who used tea tree oil gel experienced a significant reduction in bleeding and inflammation compared to a placebo or chlorhexidine antiseptic gel. Other research indicates that a type of bacteria associated with bad breath can be treated with tea tree oil and alpha-bisabolol, the active ingredient in chamomile.
The Story
Melaleuca (/ˌmɛləˈljuːkə/) is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbark, honey-myrtle, or tea-tree (although the surname is also applied to species of Leptospermum). They range in size from small shrubs that rarely reach a height of more than 16 m (52 ft), to trees up to 35 m (115 ft). Their flowers generally occur in clusters, forming a “head” or “spike” resembling a brush used for cleaning bottles, containing up to 80 individual flowers.
Melaleucas are an important food source for nectarivorous insects, birds and mammals. Many are popular garden plants, either for their attractive flowers or as dense screens and some are economically valuable for the production of fencing and oils such as tea tree oil. Most melaleucas are endemic to Australia, with a few also occurring in Malaysia. Seven are endemic to New Caledonia and one is found only on Lord Howe Island (Australia). Melaleucas are found in a wide variety of habitats. Many are adapted for life in swamps and marshy places, while others thrive in poorer sandy soils or on the edges of salt marshes.
Traditional Aboriginal Customs
Aboriginal Australians used several species of Melaleuca for raft building, shelter covering, bandages and food preparation. Bee bread and honey were collected from stingless bee hives in the melaleuca forests of the Northern Territory. The Bundjalung people traditionally lived in the area of north-eastern New South Wales, where Melaleuca alternifolia is endemic, and treated skin infections by crushing the leaves of that species onto the skin infections and covering the area with a warm mud pack.
Discover the other ingredients
HELIANTHUS ANNUUS SEED OIL ( Sunflower Seed Oil ), OLEA EUROPAEA FRUIT OIL ( Olive Oil ), RICINUS COMMUNIS SEED OIL ( Castor Oil ), THEOBROMA CACAO SEED BUTTER ( Cocoa Butter ), MELALEUCA ALTERNIFOLIA ( Tea Tree Oil ), GOLD ( Gold )