Why Tea-Tree Oil Should Be in Every Medicine Cabinet

Reader Contribution by Marlene Adelmann

Im sure that you have heard of tea tree oil, but do you know how to use it?  What is it and where does it come from? Let me start by telling you that tea tree oil may actually be the cure allof essential oils. It can be found in everything from toothpaste to household cleaners. Its available as oil, as a diluted watermiscible preparation, and in soaps, salves, and creams.  

Tea Tree Oil Ethnobotany

Amazing tea tree oil (Melaleuca alternifolia) has been used for centuries by the native people of Australia to treat wounds and burns, as Australia is the home of Melaleuca alternifolia. The medicinal tea tree should not be confused with the tea plant (Camillia sinensis) that gives us green or black tea. Of the more than three hundred species of the genus Melaleuca, it is M. alternifolia that provides the most favorable healing properties.

Australian explorers searching for valuable red cedar trees in remote areas of New South Wales found that the native aboriginal people in that area used the leaves of the tea tree to treat wounds. They would crush the leaves and apply them to the skin and place a warm mud cast over the area. The explorers followed this example and found the treatment effective. Studies in the 1920s showed that the antiseptic properties of tea tree oil were 13 times stronger than carbolic acid, the main antibacterial in use at that time.

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