Evaluation of the Tea Tree Oil Activity to Anaerobic Bacteria--in Vitro Study.

The study of the sensitivity to tea tree oil (Australian Company TTD International Pty. Ltd. Sydney) was carried out on 193 strains of anaerobic bacteria isolated from patients with various infections within the oral cavity and respiratory tracts. The susceptibility (MIC) of anaerobes was determined by means of plate dilution technique in Brucella agar supplemented with 5% defibrinated sheep blood, menadione and hemin. Inoculum contained 10(5) CFU per spot was cultured with Steers replicator upon the surface of agar with various tea tree oil concentrations or without oil (anaerobes growth control). Incubation the plates was performed in anaerobic jars under anaerobic conditions at 37 degrees C for 48 h. MIC was defined as the lowest concentrations of the essential oil completely inhibiting growth of anaerobic bacteria. Test results indicate, that among Gram-negative bacteria the most sensitive to essential oil were strains of Veillonella and Porphyromonas species. Essential oil in low concentrations (MIC in the range of = 0.12 - 0.5 mg/mL) inhibited growth of accordingly 80% and 68% strains. The least sensitive were strains of the genus Tannerella, Parabacteroides and Dialister (MIC 1.0 - 2.0 mg/mL). In the case of Gram-positive anaerobic bacteria the tea tree oil was the most active to strains of cocci of the genus Anaerococcus and Ruminococcus (MIC in range = 0.12 - 0.5 mg/mL) or strains of rods of the genus Eubacterium and Eggerthella (MIC = 0.25 mg/mL). Among Gram-positive rods the least sensitive were the strains of the genus Bifidobacterium ( MIC = 2.0 mg/mL). The tea tree oil was more active to Gram-positive than to Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria.