Tea Tree Oil --
Mother Nature's Answer To Antibiotic Resistant Infections

To disinfect a room, the anti-viral, anti-fungal, germicidal and mould controlling properties of tea tree oil are excellent.
--- The Tea Tree Oil Bible

In 1979, the then U.S. Surgeon General announced that modern antibiotics had become so effective against pathogens --- bacteria, viruses and other disease causing microorganisms --- that it was time to "close the books on infectious diseases."

He spoke a bit too soon. Over the past decade, several pathogens have developed either broad resistance or even immunity to antibiotics. The result is a major heath concern for patients and health care workers in hospitals and nursing homes. In fact, health care establishments are now seen as the prime breeding ground of antibiotic resistant pathogens The best known of these new "superbugs" to establish themselves in hospital wards and operating theaters are the feared and often deadly strains of the Golden Staph bacterium (staphylococcus aureus).

As she often does, Mother Nature may have an antidote. In fact, the active ingredients in many modern drugs are synthesized versions of those found in plants. The anti-malarial agent quinine, for example, is an extract from the bark of the chinchona tree, native to South America. An extract of the Australian tea tree now promises to yield an effective treatment for antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Tea Tree Oil Is A Germicide

Tea tree oil, extracted by steam distillation, functions as a germicide by causing structural damage in the cell walls and membranes of bacteria and fungi. The damage leads to the denaturing to the cell's live components. Pathogens that have acquired immunity to antibiotics -- especially Golden Staph -- appear to be unable to survive exposure to tea tree oil.

Two scientific studies in Australia have confirmed tea tree oil's effectiveness. The first study, commissioned by Thursday Plantation Laboratories Ltd., the world's leading producer of tea tree oil, found that a concentration of 0.15% tea tree oil kills hospital isolates of antibiotic-resistant Golden Staph. Similar results were obtained in the second study, which was conducted at the University of Western Australia and at the Australian National University. An academic paper on their work was recently published in the Journal of the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Like quinine, people knew about tea tree oil's heavy properties long before they were established scientifically. The substance got its name back in 1770, when Captain Cook's crew brewed a tea from it. By World War II, tea tree oil was widely recognized in Australia as a very effective anti-bacterial, antifungal and antiseptic agent. Known as "the first aid kit in a bottle," it was part of every soldier's standard issue. Ironically, the advent of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals during the 1940s caused tea tree oil to fade to obscurity until 1979.

Many Hospitals Now Use Tea Tree Oil

Genetically acquired immunity of many pathogenic micro-organisms to antibiotics and sullphonamide drugs that has given rise to the much feared and often deadly strains of these "superbugs" does not seem to occur with tea tree oil. Recent studies by researchers at the Perth University of Western Australia demonstrated that a concentration of 0.15% to 0.25% tea tree oil effectively kills hospital isolates of antibiotic resistant Golden Staph.

In 1985, the Standards Association of Australia prepared a firm set of standards for medicinal grade Australian tea tree oil which stated that in high quality oil the minimum amount of terpinen-4-ol must be 30 percent. Terpinen-4-ol has been clearly identified as a major germicidal component of the oil with other factions having an antimicrobial effect. Tea tree oil's germicide abilities work by causing structural damage to the bacterial or fungal cell wall and cell membrane followed by denaturation of vital microbial cell constituents

Your essential guide to the proper application tea tree oil for health and home uses is The Tea Tree Oil Bible. Safely and effectively put the power of tea tree oil to work for you and your family's health and well-being.

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