Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals : Popular #Herbs

Thursday, 7 November 2013

Popular #Herbs - Tea Tree oil

Rea Tree oil is an essential oil with pale yellow color made from the leaves of the Narrow-leaved Tea-tree which is in the genus belonging to the family Myrtaceae, native to the northeast coast of New South Wales, Australia. The herb has been used in the traditional medicine as topical to treat acne, fungal infections, parasites, bacteria infection, relieve pain, etc.

Health Benefits
1. Mild to moderate acne vulgaris
In the determination of the efficacy of 5% tea tree oil in mild to moderate acne vulgaris, found that There was a significant difference between tea tree oil gel and placebo in the improvement of the TLC and also regarding improvement of the ASI. In terms of TLC and ASI, tea tree oil gel was 3.55 times and 5.75 times more effective than placebo respectively. Side-effects with both groups were relatively similar and tolerable and suggested that topical 5% tea tree oil is an effective treatment for mild to moderate acne vulgaris, according to "The efficacy of 5% topical tea tree oil gel in mild to moderate acne vulgaris: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study" by Enshaieh S, Jooya A, Siadat AH, Iraji F.(1)

2. Acne
In the classification of plant extracts and isolated compounds, used increasingly in cosmetics and food supplements to improve skin conditions, indicated that Green tea extract and tea tree oil have been investigated in the treatment of acne. ..., according to "Which plant for which skin disease? Part 1: Atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, condyloma and herpes simplex.[Article in English, German]" by Reuter J, Wölfle U, Weckesser S, Schempp C.(2)

3. Skin inflammation
In the investigation of the anti-inflammatory properties of tea tree oil on histamine-induced weal and flare, found that application of liquid paraffin had no significant effect on histamine-induced weal and flare. There was also no difference in mean flare area between control arms and those on which tea tree oil was applied. However, mean weal volume significantly decreased after tea tree oil application (10 min after tea tree oil application, P = 0.0004, Mann-Whitney U-test), according to "Tea tree oil reduces histamine-induced skin inflammation" by Koh KJ, Pearce AL, Marshman G, Finlay-Jones JJ, Hart PH.(3)

4. Edema
In the evaluation of the effect of topically applied tea tree oil (TTO) on histamine-induced oedema in the ears of mice, found that topical application of TTO, and in particular terpinen-4-ol, may be effective in controlling histamine-induced oedema often associated with Type I allergic immediate hypersensitivities, according to "Tea tree oil reduces histamine-induced oedema in murine ears" by Brand C, Townley SL, Finlay-Jones JJ, Hart PH.(4)

5. Anti tumors
In the examination the anticancer activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil (TTO) in vitro and its major active terpene component, terpinen-4-ol, against two aggressive murine tumour cell lines, AE17 mesothelioma and B16 melanoma, found that TTO and terpinen-4-ol had significant anti-proliferative activity against two tumour cell lines. Moreover, the identification of primary necrotic cell death and cell cycle arrest of the aggressive tumour cells highlights the potential anticancer activity of TTO and terpinen-4-ol., according to "Induction of necrosis and cell cycle arrest in murine cancer cell lines by Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil and terpinen-4-ol" by Greay SJ, Ireland DJ, Kissick HT, Levy A, Beilharz MW, Riley TV, Carson CF.(5)

6. Tinea pedis
In the identification of tea tree oil (an essential oil derived primarily from the Australian native Melaleuca alternifolia) and its efficacy in fungal infections, found that tea tree oil cream (10% w/w) appears to reduce the symptomatology of tinea pedis as effectively as tolnaftate 1% but is no more effective than placebo in achieving a mycological cure. This may be the basis for the popular use of tea tree oil in the treatment of tinea pedis, according to "Tea tree oil in the treatment of tinea pedis" by Tong MM, Altman PM, Barnetson RS.(6)

7. Anti microbial effects
In the demonstration of Melaleuca alternifolia oil (tea tree oil) and its promising efficacy in treating these infections, found that tea tree oil has been effective as an adjunctive therapy in treating osteomyelitis and infected chronic wounds in case studies and small clinical trials, according to "Staphylococcus aureus and wounds: a review of tea tree oil as a promising antimicrobial" by Halcón L, Milkus K.(7)

8. Ocular itching
In the assessment of twenty-four patients with ocular itching and ocular Demodex were treated with chlortetracycline hydrochloride eye ointment lid massage for 4 weeks and then treatment was switched to TTOO for another 4 weeks, found that after 4 weeks of chlortetracycline hydrochloride eye ointment treatment, little changes were observed regarding itching and Demodex counts in all patients (P > 0.05). In contrast, after 5% TTOO treatment, 16 patients were totally free of itching and the remaining 8 patients had different degrees of relief (P < 0.01). The Demodex count decreased to 0.7 ± 0.8 for total (P < 0.01), according to "Treatment of ocular itching associated with ocular demodicosis by 5% tea tree oil ointment" by Gao YY, Xu DL, Huang J, Wang R, Tseng SC.(8)

9. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
In the review of tea tree oil is capable of killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a laboratory setting, found that researched the effectiveness of tea tree oil preparations against MRSA. One small RCT (n = 30) showed a large but non-significant improvement at eradicating MRSA compared to traditional treatment, whereas a larger study (n = 224) demonstrated little difference in rates of eradication overall (41% for tea tree and 49% for mupirocin, p = 0.286). However, the larger study found that those with nasal colonization receiving a tea tree regimen were more likely to remain colonized with MRSA in the nose, according to "Is tea tree oil effective at eradicating MRSA colonization? A review" by

Flaxman D, Griffiths P.(9)

10. Etc.