Tea tree oil

Description

A nondrying oil obtained from the leaves of the tea tree Leptospermum scoparium native to New Zealand. Tea tree oil contains volatile terpenes that act as a strong fungicide.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Leptospermum scoparium; aceite del árbol de té (Esp.); titriol; titrol; Australian tea tree oil

Hazards and Safety

Contains pyrethrins. May cause neurological damage in humans.

Authority

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 802

• External source or communication Comment: M.L. Florian - COoL, July 12, 2001 - contain pyrethrins and may cause neurological damage in humans

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "leptospermum" Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [Accessed 28 Sept. 2005].

• Website address 1 Comment: student.washington.edu/~caitz/natcleaners.html --powerful antifungal cleaner

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptospermum (Accessed Sept. 28, 2005)

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998