PURPOSE To determine the active ingredient in tea tree oil (TTO) responsible for its reported killing effect on Demodex mites, the most common ectoparasite found in the human skin extending to the eye. METHODS Using a reported in vitro killing assay to measure the survival time of adult Demodex folliculorum up to 150 minutes, we have screened serial concentrations of 13 of the 15 known ingred...

Demodex folliculorum and brevis are commensal mites that live in low densities human pilosebaceous follicles as part of the normal adult microbiota, but give rise to demodicosis and, possibly, rosacea, when they proliferate excessively. This proliferation is favored by various factors, including age, marked immunosuppression, sebaceous gland hyperplasia, hypervascularization-related factors. To...

Although solar irradiation is the major factor in the development of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), some other factors also seem to play an etiopathogenetic role regarding the fact that relatively sun-protected areas are also often involved. Pilosebaceous follicle mites, Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis are found most frequently and densely in the same facial areas including eyelids, forehe...