The essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) has broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. The mechanisms of action of tea tree oil and three of its components, 1,8-cineole, terpinen-4-ol, and alpha-terpineol, against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 9144 were investigated. Treatment with these agents at their MICs and two times their MICs, particularly treatment with terpinen-4-ol and alpha-t...

BACKGROUND Tea tree oil is the essential oil steam-distilled from Melaleuca alternifolia, an Australian native plant. In recent years it has become increasingly popular as an antimicrobial for the treatment of conditions such as tinea pedis and acne. OBJECTIVES To investigate the anti-inflammatory properties of tea tree oil on histamine-induced weal and flare. METHODS Twenty-seven volunteer...

There has recently been a significant increase in the use of therapeutically active compounds extracted from plants as opposed to chemically synthesised drugs. The demand for natural products is increasing and in many cases currently exceeds supply. The flora of New Zealand and Australia is rich in unique species, however, very few of these native plants have been tested for medicinal constitue...

In the present study, we have evaluated the in vitro antibacterial activity of essential oils from Origanum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris, Lavandula angustifolia, Mentha piperita, and Melaleuca alternifolia against 32 erythromycin-resistant [Mininum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) ≥1 μg/mL; inducible, constitutive, and efflux-mediated resistance phenotype; erm(TR), erm(B), and mef(A) genes] and cell-in...

This study was conducted to determine the frequencies at which single-step mutants resistant to tea tree oil and rifampicin occurred amongst the Gram-positive organisms Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Enterococcus faecalis. For tea tree oil, resistance frequencies were very low at <10(-9). Single-step mutants resistant to tea tree oil were undetectable at two times the min...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important cause of nosocomial and biofilm-associated infections which is often difficult to eradicate, due to its intrinsic resistance and capacity to undergo mutations and adaptations. This study aimed to assess the anti-biofilm activity of three essential oils (EOs) (Cinammon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), Tea tree (TTO) (Melaleuca alternifolia) and Palmarosa (Cymbopogo...

BACKGROUND There are two components to the clinical efficacy of pediculicides: (i) efficacy against the crawling-stages (lousicidal efficacy); and (ii) efficacy against the eggs (ovicidal efficacy). Lousicidal efficacy and ovicidal efficacy are confounded in clinical trials. Here we report on a trial that was specially designed to rank the clinical ovicidal efficacy of pediculicides. Eggs were ...