Garihma (to Care for)

Treatment of refractory generalized granuloma annulare with oral vitamin E and topical tea tree oil

To examine the in vitro anticancer activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil (TTO), and its major active terpene component, terpinen-4-ol, against two aggressive murine tumour cell lines, AE17 mesothelioma and B16 melanoma. Effects of TTO and terpinen-4-ol on the cellular viability of two tumour cell lines and fibroblast cells were assessed by MTT assay. Induction of apoptotic and necrotic cell death was visualised by fluorescent microscopy and quantified by flow cytometry. Tumour cell ultrastructural changes were examined by transmission electron microscopy and changes in cell cycle distribution were assessed by flow cytometry, with changes in cellular morphology monitored by video time lapse microscopy. TTO and terpinen-4-ol significantly inhibited the growth of two murine tumour cell lines in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Interestingly, cytotoxic doses of TTO and terpinen-4-ol were significantly less efficacious against non-tumour fibroblast cells. TTO and terpinen-4-ol induced necrotic cell death coupled with low level apoptotic cell death in both tumour cell lines. This primary necrosis was clarified by video time lapse microscopy and also by transmission electron microscopy which revealed ultrastructural features including cell and organelle swelling following treatment with TTO. In addition, both TTO and terpinen-4-ol induced their inhibitory effect by eliciting G1 cell cycle arrest. 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.

Dipping and jetting with tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) oil formulations control lice (Bovicola ovis) on sheep

Tea tree ( Melaleuca alternifolia) oil is a plant-derived essential oil with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. In this study, tea tree oil, a volatile essential oil, was encapsulated into a polymeric matrix by emulsion electrospinning to prepare core–shell nanofibers and investigate composite nanofibrous membranes as potential delivery vehicles of the antimicrobial agent. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), which is a biodegradable polymer used as a medical material, was combined with tea tree oil for pharmaceutical and medical applications. Composite PVA nanofibers with a well-aligned core–shell structure containing tea tree oil were obtained via electrospinning from an emulsion comprising the oil and an aqueous PVA solution. Thermal treatment was used to make the PVA-based nanofibrous membranes stable in moist environments. The effects of drying and thermal treatment on the release behavior of tea tree oil from the composite membranes were thoroughly investigated. The antimicrobial effects of tea tree oil embedded in nanofibrous membranes were assessed against Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus aureus. Although the thermal treatment of the PVA nanofibers loaded with tea tree oil reduced the emission of volatile organic compounds, terpinen-4-ol, an active antibacterial component of the oil, was released continuously over 14 days. The composite membranes containing tea tree oil presented strong antibacterial effects against Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, these bioactive nanofibrous membranes show promise as potential carrier systems for tea tree oil, which represses microbial growth, and may be used for topical skin infection treatment.

Overexploitation has led to a rise in pathogenic bacteria within aquaculture, increasing reliance on antibiotics, and developing microorganism resistance. This situation underscores the need to explore alternatives with a reduced ecological impact. Metabolites derived from essential oils have demonstrated antimicrobial properties that can inhibit or diminish the activity of various microorganisms. In this study, the antimicrobial efficacy of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) essential oils against pathogenic bacteria (Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Shewanella, Comamonas, Vibrio, Acinetobacter, and Empedobacter) isolated from tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) brooded in Hidalgo State, Mexico, were investigated. Diffusion tests were conducted using discs infused with 12 different antibiotics and discs infused with essential oils at concentrations of 15, 10, and 5 μL each. Minimal inhibitory concentration tests were performed using a 96-well microplate format. All bacterial strains exhibited multi-resistance to various antibiotics; however, thyme and cinnamon effectively inhibited the tested bacteria at the lowest concentrations, while tea tree oil was the least effective. The findings suggest the potential incorporation of thyme and cinnamon as an alternative prevention to decrease the use of antibiotic treatment.

The essential oils from French lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) were separated by the two-dimensional GC technique of comprehensive gas chromatography. A coupled column combination of non-polar (5% phenyl equivalent) and polyethylene glycol phase columns was used to provide the desired resolution performance. By using a range of known standards, some of the peaks in lavender oil can be assigned. Some of these also occur in tea tree oil; however, from our knowledge of the major constituents in this oil and their relative retention behaviour, most of the major peaks may be tentatively assigned within the 2-dimensional separation space. There appear to be elution patterns within the 2-D space which should be useful in correlating retention with chemical and structural properties of the components, although this will require further evaluation. A range of coeluting peaks, which may not be so readily separated by using a single column capillary GC analysis, are resolved in the experiment described.

Tea tree oil (TTO) is an essential oil obtained from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, M. linariifolia, or M. dissitiflora. Because of the commercial importance of TTO, substitution or adulteration with other tea tree species (such as cajeput, niaouli, manuka, or kanuka oils) is common and may pose significant risks along with perceived health benefits. The distinctive nature, qualitative and quantitative compositional variation of these oils, is responsible for the various pharmacological as well as adverse effects. Authentic TTOs (especially aged ones) have been identified as potential skin sensitizers, while reports of adverse allergic reactions to the other tea trees essential oils are less frequent. Chemical sensitizers are usually electrophilic compounds, and in chemico methods have been developed to identify skin allergens in terms of their ability to bind to biological nucleophiles. However, little information is available on the assessment of sensitization potential of mixtures, such as essential oils, due to their complexity. In the present study, 10 "tea tree" oils and six major TTO constituents have been investigated for their sensitization potential using a fluorescence in chemico method. The reactivity of authentic TTOs was found to correlate with the age of the oils, while the majority of nonauthentic TTOs were less reactive, even after aging. Further thio-trapping experiments with DCYA and characterization by UHPLC-DAD-MS led to the identification of several possible DCYA-adducts which can be used to deduce the structure of the candidate reactive species. The major TTO components, terpinolene, α-terpinene, and terpinene-4-ol, were unstable under accelerated aging conditions, which led to the formation of several DCYA-adducts.

Legionella pneumophila is a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen that colonizes natural and artificial water systems and has the ability to form a biofilm. The biofilm protects L. pneumophila from various environmental factors and makes it more resistant to chlorine-based disinfectants. This study investigated the anti-bacterial properties of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia (Maiden and Betche) Cheel) oil and lemon eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus citriodora Hook) essential oils (EOs) and their synergistic, additive inhibitory and anti-adhesive effects against L. pneumophila biofilm formation on polystyrene. The minimum effective concentration (MEC) for tea tree is 12.8 mg ml−1 and for lemon eucalyptus tree EO 6.4 mg ml−1. In the checkerboard assay, different combinations of these two EO show synergistic and additive anti-microbial activity. The minimum anti-adhesive concentration (MAC) for tea tree is 12.8 mg ml−1 and for lemon eucalyptus tree EO 6.4 mg ml−1. A combination of 3.2 mg ml−1 tea tree EO and 0.8 mg ml−1 lemon eucalyptus tree EO showed the strongest anti-adhesive effect against L. pneumophila on polystyrene. The tested oils and their combination showed intriguing potential to inhibit L. pneumophila biofilm formation.

This study examined the effect of subinhibitory Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) essential oil on the development of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Frequencies of single-step antibiotic-resistant mutants were determined by inoculating bacteria cultured with or without subinhibitory tea tree oil onto agar containing 2 to 8 times the MIC of each antibiotic and with or without tea tree oil. Whereas most differences in resistance frequencies were relatively minor, the combination of kanamycin and tea tree oil yielded approximately 10-fold fewer resistant E. coli mutants than kanamycin alone. The development of multistep antibiotic resistance in the presence of tea tree oil or terpinen-4-ol was examined by culturing S. aureus and E. coli isolates daily with antibiotic alone, antibiotic with tea tree oil, and antibiotic with terpinen-4-ol for 6 days. Median MICs for each antibiotic alone increased 4- to 16-fold by day 6. Subinhibitory tea tree oil or terpinen-4-ol did not greatly alter results, with day 6 median MICs being either the same as or one concentration different from those for antibiotic alone. For tea tree oil and terpinen-4-ol alone, day 6 median MICs had increased 4-fold for S. aureus (n = 18) and 2-fold for E. coli (n = 18) from baseline values. Lastly, few significant changes in antimicrobial susceptibility were seen for S. aureus and S. epidermidis isolates that had been serially subcultured 14 to 22 times with subinhibitory terpinen-4-ol. Overall, these data indicate that tea tree oil and terpinen-4-ol have little impact on the development of antimicrobial resistance and susceptibility.

There has been increased interest surrounding the use of tea tree oil (TTO) as a natural antimicrobial. In this study, the antimicrobial activity of TTO and its components were investigated in vitro and in a predominantly lipid-based personal care formulation. In vitro, TTO showed minimal inhibitory concentrations of 0.2% (for Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pythium sulcatum), 0.4% (for Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Rhizopus stolonifer), and 0.8% (for Botrytis cinerea). TTO at 0.08%-0.8% was often as efficient as parabens. Comparison of the antimicrobial activities of TTO components showed that terpinen-4-ol and γ-terpinene were generally most effective in inhibiting microbial growth. TTO activity in a personal care product was evaluated through air and water exposure, artificial inoculation, and shelf life studies. While TTO did not increase shelf life of unopened products, it decreased microbial load in products exposed to water and air. Results from this study support that antimicrobial activity of TTO can be attributed to varying levels of its components and that low levels of TTO were effective in reducing microbial growth during the use of the product. This study showed that TTO can act as a suitable preservative system within an oil-based formulation.

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil for its antifungal activity as mono-therapeutic agent, and in combination with current antifungal agents, like itraconazole and ketoconazole. To assess the significance of TTO (Tea Tree Oil), ITZ (Itraconazole) and KTZ (Ketoconazole), for in vitro susceptibility pattern of dermatophyte, which was obtained from the cases of clinically examined dermatophytosis, attending the dermatology outpatient department of Sheikh Zayed Hospital. The tea tree essential oil was extracted through steam distillation method using 500g of fresh Melaleuca alternifolia leaves from Lawrence Garden and obtained the yield of 3mL that comes to be 0.6%. Trichophyton violaceum grown on SDA Sabouraud dextrose agar ager plates for 48h were tested for fungicidal activity using equal quantity of TTO employing well method technique. In a comparative study assessing the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of ITZ and KTZ, the MFC of KTZ was found to be greater than the MFC of ITZ because the solution of same concentration produced lesser inhibition zones in case of ITZ as compared to KTZ. In another study to ascertain the synergistic effects of TTO with ITZ, it was established that TTO significantly potentiated the effect of azoles in combination therapy reducing the MFC of ITZ up to 8 folds from 4 to 0.07 ug/mL. In yet another study to cross check the synergistic effects of TTO with KTZ in combination therapy. It was positively found that TTO potentiated the fungicidal activity of KTZ, reducing the MFC of KTZ up to 8 folds from 0.25 to 0.03μg/mL. Comparing the synergistic effects of TTO with ITZ and TTO with KTZ in combination therapies the inhibition zones produced by TTO with KTZ are found to be prominently biggest. Hence Synergy of TTO with KTZ is most proficient because it reduces the MFC of azole maximally while potentiating the fungicidal activity of KTZ.

Numerous essential oils have been well acknowledged as eco-friendly alternatives to combat insect pests due to synthetic insecticide-induced pest resistance and environment pollution. As a highly commercial essential oil, tea tree oil exhibits excellent insecticidal and repellent activities. However, the molecular mechanism of the olfactory system mediating the tea tree oil-induced repellency against insect pests remains unknown. In our study, mosquito was used as a suitable model to examine the molecular mechanism of tea tree oil-induced repellency against insect pests. The results showed that tea tree oil exhibited excellent spatial and oviposition repellency against Aedes aegypti adults and outstanding repellency against larvae, which were conferred by the main constituent terpinen-4-ol. The reduced repellency in the Orco-/- mutant strain revealed that tea tree oil-induced repellency against mosquitoes was dependent on odorant receptor(s). Moreover, we identified one antenna-biased odorant receptor, AaOr96, that was involved in detecting constituents of tea tree oil to elicit repellency, and the predicted protein-ligand complex indicated that AaOr96 interacted with terpinen-4-ol via van der Waals forces from five key residues. Finally, knocking out AaOr96 resulted in a reduced spatial repellency against A. aegypti by tea tree oil and terpinen-4-ol, and a reduced oviposition repellency by terpinen-4-ol, but not by tea tree oil. Our study not only reveals that tea tree oil has great potential in pest management but also provides more insights into the molecular basis of repellency of essential oils.

Dactylogyrus sp. (Monogenea) is one of the most dangerous pathogens causing parasitic infections in carp (Cyprinus carpio) and other freshwater fish. Due to the adverse effects of conventional chemical treatments on the environment and fish, the use of herbal products in aquaculture against various diseases has increased. In the present study, anthelmintic effects of peppermint (Mentha piperita), lemon (Citrus limon), and tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) essential oils against Dactylogyrus sp. found on the gills of carp were studied using in vitro and in vivo experiments. In in vitro experiments, 1, 2.5, 5, and 10 μl/ml concentrations of these essential oils were tested on the parasites and cumulative mortalities were observed to reach 100 % after treatment with peppermint, lemon, and tea tree essential oils of 1 μl/ml concentration in approximately 15, 10 and 2 min, respectively. The in vitro experiments demonstrated that the cumulative mortality of the parasites increased with essential oil concentration and exposure duration. As the concentration of essential oil used increased, the observed mean time to death of parasites decreased. In in vivo experiments, median effective concentrations (EC50) as assessed by in vitro tests for peppermint and lemon essential oils in 5 min exposure and EC50 concentration for tea tree essential oil in 2 min exposure was applied on fish as a single bath and there was a significant decrease in the mean parasite intensities (p<0.05). Antiparasitic efficacies of peppermint, lemon, and tea tree essential oils were determined as 28.23 %, 30.95 %, and 35.31 %, respectively. The tea tree oil was the most effective and peppermint oil was the least effective in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. All three herbal essential oils tested in this study have weak antiparasitic potential against monogenean infections in fish.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of commercial essential oils: lavender, tea tree and lemon, antimicrobials in washing liquid and O/W soft body balm. The inhibition efficacy of essential oils in washing liquid (1% alone or in mixtures), in soft body balm (0.5% alone), as well as combined with the synthetic preservative DMDM hydantoin and 3-iodo-2-propynyl butyl carbamate mixture (0.1 and 0.3%), was tested against S. aureus ATCC 6538, P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027, Candida sp. ŁOCK 0008 and A. niger ATCC 16404 in compliance with the European Pharmacopoeia standards. The components of the system preserving soft body balm were supplemented with a solubilizer. Washing liquids containing only essential oils met Criterion A E.P. only for S. aureus, Candida sp. and A. niger. In soft body balm formulations, oils at a concentration of 0.5% did not reveal any preserving activity. The introduction of a solubilizer to a system containing 0.5% tea tree oil led to a substantial increase in the bacteriostatic activity of the formulation, but did not significantly affect its fungistatic properties. A combination of 0.5% tea tree oil, 5% solubilizer and 0.3% synthetic preservative ensured the microbiological stability of soft body balm in accordance with Criterion A E.P.

Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the effect of using two preoperative mouthwashes (0.12% chlorhexidine and 0.2% tea tree oil) on the number of colonies of oral microorganisms. Forty participants who needed to be rehabilitated with dental implants were included in this study. They were randomly divided into two groups (chlorhexidine group and tea tree group; n = 20, each). For each group, saliva samples were collected at four different times: T0 (initially)-before using the mouthwash, T1-after 1 minute of using the mouthwash, T10-after 10 minutes of using the mouthwash, and T60-after 60 minutes of using the mouthwash. At T0 and T1, saliva samples were collected before implant placement surgery, and at T10 and T60, saliva samples were collected during surgery. In each group, one saliva sample was collected at each evaluated time point for each patient, totaling 4 saliva collections per patient. MSB agar (Mitis-Salivarius-Bacitracin) and BHI agar (Brain Heart Infusion) culture media were used in each group. Microbial colony counts were performed using a magnifying glass and recorded in CFU (colony forming units)/mL. Statistical analyses were performed using the Friedman, Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests (p < 0.05). Based on MSB agar culture medium, at T0, the number of Streptococcus mutans colonies in the chlorhexidine group was significantly higher compared with the tea tree group (p <0.05; MSB agar). The chlorhexidine group showed significantly lower CFU/mL values for Streptococcus mutans at T1, T10, and T60 compared with the tea tree group (p <0.05; MSB agar). Based on BHI agar culture medium, at T0, the chlorhexidine group showed a significantly lower value of CFU/mL compared with the tea tree group (p < 0.05; BHI agar). At T1, T10, and T60, the chlorhexidine group showed significantly lower CFU/mL values compared with the tea tree group (p <0.05; BHI agar). Chlorhexidine is more indicated as a preoperative mouthwash than tea tree oil, due to its significantly more effective antimicrobial action.