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Major Article| Volume 32, ISSUE 7, P402-408, November 2004

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Staphylococcus aureus and wounds: A review of tea tree oil as a promising antimicrobial

  • Linda Halcón
    Correspondence
    Reprint requests: Linda Halcón, PhD, MPH, RN, University of Minnesota School of Nursing, 6-101 Weaver-Densford Hall, 308 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
    Affiliations
    From the School of Nursing, University of Minnesotaa and Minnesota Program in CAM Clinical Research, Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research, Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation.b USA
    Search for articles by this author
  • Kelly Milkus
    Affiliations
    From the School of Nursing, University of Minnesotaa and Minnesota Program in CAM Clinical Research, Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research, Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation.b USA
    Search for articles by this author

      Abstract

      Antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to be a major health concern worldwide. In particular, Staphylococcus aureus, both methicillin-resistant and -sensitive, are of concern in their ability to cause difficult skin and underlying tissue infections. Melaleuca alternifolia oil (tea tree oil), an essential oil, has demonstrated promising efficacy in treating these infections. Tea tree oil has been used for centuries as a botanical medicine, and has only in recent decades surfaced in the scientific literature as a promising adjunctive wound treatment. Tea tree oil is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and has demonstrated ability to activate monocytes. There are few apparent side effects to using tea tree oil topically in low concentrations, with contact dermatitis being the most common. Tea tree oil has been effective as an adjunctive therapy in treating osteomyelitis and infected chronic wounds in case studies and small clinical trials. There is a need for larger clinical trials to further examine efficacy of tea tree oil as an adjunctive wound therapy, as well as improved guidelines for developing plant-based medicines.
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