Tea tree oil is extracted from the leaves of the melaleuca alternifolia plant. In the last 2 decades, much has been reported about the medical benefits of this naturally healing plant. In Australia and the South Pacific, the leaves of this plant have been widely used to treat a variety of skin infections. While the extracts of tea tree oil have been proven in a laboratory to have anti septic properties, large scale studies on humans are still lacking. Today, extracts of tea tree oil are available in many health food stores and used to treat a variety of fungal infections of the skin, acne and certain vaginal infections.
The cosmetic skin care industry also routinely adds extract of tea tree oil to enhance the moisturizing ability and to prevent fine lines or wrinkles. However, the consumer should be aware that there is a lack of definitive evidence for most these conditions. Because there is no strict regulation on the sale of tea tree oil, consumers have been using this oil to treat genital herpes, lice, eye infections, athlete's foot, dandruff, nail infections and thrush.
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