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Article: Tea tree oil: panacea or placebo?(News, Views & Reviews)(Report)
- Article from:
- Journal of Drugs in Dermatology
- Article date:
- May 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The History of Tea Tree Oil
From the leaves of the Melaleuca alternifolia tree in New South Wales, Australia, this oil has been used by indigenous people in the region for thousands of years as a poultice to treat wounds and an inhaled vapor to treat colds. Interest in tea tree oil peaked in the 1920s and 1930s, when large-scale manufacturing began. Later, it fell out of favor as a medical treatment, in parallel with use of the first commercially available antibiotics. Commercial manufacture re-started in the 1980s as a natural component of medical and herbal products.
Tea tree oil is composed of a number of terpene-based components, of which ...