ABSTRACT
Melaleuca alternifolia
and other
Melaleuca
species has strong antimicrobial potential (see Lis-Balchin et al., 2000, for a review and references).
The whole-plant extract had been used originally by aboriginals and the essential oils themselves had been used during the World War II as a general antimicrobial agent and insect repellent, and provided in the first-aid kits of serving Australian soldiers. The essential oil is today used as a strong antimicrobial and antifungal agent in creams, soaps, toothpastes, and other preparations and has been used both externally and internally by both
herbalists
and
aromatherapists
for some years. There is scant evidence that
Manuka
(
Leptospermum scoparium
) and
Kanuka
(
Kunzea
ericoides
) have such potential, but as the essential oils are said to have remarkable powers of healing, based on folk medicinal usage, these oils are being used by some aromatherapists, although there have been no safety/toxicological evaluations performed on them.
