Tea tree oil.
Melaleuca alternifolia is the scientific botanic name of tea tree which thrives in wild in Australia and it is cultivated in California. Very similar species are found in Indonesia, New Guinea and Malaysia.
The name tea tree was given by the explorer Captain James Cook who brought it and made it known in Europe. Originally, the leaves of plant used to be used as an alternative tea preparation, since it was not known that the herb is toxic, if it is ingested in large doses.
For nearly two thousand years, Aboriginal people in Australia have been using oil, extracted from melaleuca alternifolia leaves for numerous medical purposes, including the antiseptic ones. In fact, the oil has a pleasant smell of disinfectant and its antibacterial and anti-fungus properties are due to substances contained in the leaves of the tea tree. These are referred to as terpenoids or turpenes.
Tea tree oil is used as antiseptic and it is contained in creams, ointments, lotions, and soaps. These products are used for topical treatment of acne, psoriasis, earache, fungal infections, cystitis, thrush and wounds infected with Staphylococcus aureus. The latest is a bacterium very resistant in antiseptics and antibiotics and affects people with impaired immunity or post surgical patients who remain hospitalized.
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