Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is the essential oil, steam distilled, from a native Australian plant variety of the Tea tree family. This species is unique to Australia and native to Northern New South Wales. Tea tree oil contains more than 100 components, mostly monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and their alcohols. Terpinen-4-ol is present at the highest levels (minimum 30%) and is responsible for most of the oil's antimicrobial activity.

Reducing Inflammation

Soothing effects of tea tree oil shown:
The ability of tea tree oil to reduce swelling has been shown in trials on mice by a team of South Australian researchers.

Team leader Professor John Finlay-Jones of Flinders University says the effect of tea tree oil on inflammation resulting from exposure to a chemical that induces a skin reaction was tested as part of the research. The trial induced a chemical sensitivity in mice to mimic a condition that is experienced by up to 1 in 10 people. This type of reaction was chosen to test the effectiveness of tea tree to sooth this type of delayed inflammatory reaction.

"We showed that tea tree oil applied 30 minutes before or up to 7 hours after exposure to the chemical significantly reduced skin swelling. This reduction of oedema was achieved with neat tea tree oil or ointment containing 5% of the oil," he said.

Healing Cold Sores

Human trials follow up promising pilot study
Further research on the use of tea tree oil to treat cold sores is underway, with nearly 150 cold sore sufferers recruited and more than 60 treated for a project running in Western Australia. This trial follows an earlier pilot study that showed that people who treated their cold sores using a gel containing 6% tea tree oil up to 5 times a day had faster times to healing (9 versus 12.5 days).

"There is strong interest in treatments for cold sores because 20% - 40% of people are prone to developing cold sores because they carry the herpes simplex virus 1, which at this stage has no cure", she said. The team has also applied for funds to run further trials to test these findings in humans. "Once underway we will be looking for volunteers who are either sensitive to nickel or have other skin allergies who wish to be test the effectiveness of tea tree oil to reduce swelling and itching".

Fungal Treatments

Tests on tea tree oil show it works
Tea tree oil has been proven to be effective in inhibiting a wide range of fungi found in our environment. Laboratory trials at The University of Western Australia’s Department of Microbiology show that tea tree oil kills yeasts, like candida, and dermatophytes, that cause diseases such as tinea and ringworm.

Fungi that lurk in air conditioning
In the latest research into the antifungal activity of tea tree oil, Researcher Kate Hammer says that some of the aspergillus species can cause a disease called aspergillus or ‘farmers lung’.

Opening a World Market

Oral Healthcare

Fighting oral microorganisms can improve wellbeing.
There are a large number of bacterial species found in the mouth, with some of them causing a number of systemic problems including dental disease, and even extending to diseases like bacterial endocarditis, a cause of heart disease.

A project is underway at The University of Western Australia’s Department of Microbiology to determine the susceptibility of oral microorganisms to tea tree oil and to evaluate its potential as a topical antimicrobial agent for oral infections.

Project Leader Dr. Christine Carson says to date their research shows that a number of Streptococcus and Actinomyces species are susceptible to tea tree oil at concentrations similar to those reported previously for other bacteria.

Breeding Success

Improved seed the only way to go. In 1992 the average plantation production of tea tree oil was 148kg/ha. This was considered well below potential and unviable during periods of low prices. Today the average yield of improved stands of tea tree is more like 192kg/ha due to the establishment of the Tea Tree Breeding Project.

The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) and the Australia Tea Tree Industry Association (ATTIA) recognised the potential to provide progressive, economically significant gains in oil yield and quality of Tea Tree oil when they supported the first phase of breeding in May 1993.

Eight years down the track the Tea Tree Breeding Project based at Wollongbar Agricultural Institute recently had its second positive review.

The Tea Tree Breeding Project has successfully released seed to the industry for the fourth consecutive year. This brings a total of 7 kg of seed distributed, enough to plant over 1000 ha of tea tree plantation. Improvements in yields of around 30% have already been achieved and by 2003 the yield of oil is expected to be 60% over 1992 levels.

Industry Snapshot

The Australian Tea Tree industry has become an important regional industry in Australia with a farm-gate value in excess of $20 million. Approximately 90% of tea tree oil is exported.

There are presently some 300 producers in the industry with a total plantation of an estimated 6000 ha. Pure tea tree oil is an essential oil produced by steam distillation of the leaves and terminal branchlets of the Tea Tree plant.

This extremely fast-growing species is indigenous to the north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Research and clinical trials conducted on tea tree oil since 1923 have confirmed its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties - Tea Tree Oil Research.

Tea tree oil has broad-spectrum antimicrobial and antifungal properties. It finds use in a wide range of pharmaceutical, cosmetic and household products. The Australian Tea Tree industry continues to research and improve methods of packaging, bottling and transportation to best preserve the benefits of this valued natural resource.

The Australia Tea Tree oil plant was originally manually harvested from natural stands. The oil was produced from the harvested material in crude bush stills. Today, this breed of Tea Tree oil is grown in plantations and the crop mechanically harvested with modified forage harvesters. Plantation trees are usually harvested every 12-18 months. The trees are robust and some plantations have been able to harvest leaf from their trees for up to 10 years. All plantation operators take care to preserve the natural environmental balance and sustain future resources.

The finely cut Tea Tree Oil leaf and twigs is transported to a steam distillation facility where it is processed in specially designed stills to yield the product, Australian Tea Tree Oil.

The vapour rises and is forced through a condenser, the sudden drop in temperature causing it to liquefy and return to oil and water. The separation of these elements produces 100% pure tea tree oil that is then stored for decanting into glass bottles.

ATTIA – Australian Tea Tree Industry Association’s mission is implementing national standards that will assure the Australian tea tree industry maintains consistently high quality in its processes and products.

Commercial standards for tea tree oil are currently determined on a company-by-company basis. ATTIA is negotiating with key stakeholders in the industry to regulate specifications and so present a unified voice for development and promotion.

The chemical composition of tea tree oil is determined by ISO4730 and AS 2782-1997 Australian Standard [Tea Tree Oil, terpinen-4-ol type].

To Find out more about our range of products, contact the TTree2Success Team now!