Herbal Encyclopedia

Common Medicinal Herbs For Natural Health

Tea Tree

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Botanical and Common Names

  • Family Myrtaceae
  • Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree Oil)
  • Other species that provide valuable oil:
  • Melaleuca leucadendron (Cajuput, White Tea Tree, Swamp Tea Tree, Paperbark Tree, White Wood)
  • Melaleucea viridiflora (Niauli is a broad-leafed paperbark tree.)
  • Melaleucea linariifolia has an essential oil that is very similar to tea tree.

Cautions

  • None listed.

Description

Native to Australia and Tazmania, tea tree is now widely used in Europe, Australia, and North America. The evergreen shrub is related to the myrtle tree, reaching over twenty feet in height and having a papery bark, pointed needle-like leaves, and heads of yellow or purplish flowers that when open, resemble a puffy, feathery mass. The tree flourishes wild in swampy areas in northern New South Wales and Queensland, but is now extensively cultivated, especially on plantations in Asia and other parts of the world. The Tea Tree produces an essential oil that has unique infection-fighting properties. The leaves and small branches are picked throughout the year and distilled to produce the essential oil.

History

Native Australians have used tea tree oil for centuries, but it was unknown to the rest of the world until the late 1700s when Captain James Cook led an expedition there and began experimenting with the leaves. The crew brewed a lemon-flavoured tea from the leaves and added it to a beer they had concocted. They also gave it its name as a result. On later voyages, a botanist who travelled with Captain Cook observed how the aborgines used the shrub to heal infected wounds. But this information did not make an impact on the rest of the world until the 1920s when a Syndey research chemist, A. R. Penfold, studied the oil and discovered its antiseptic properties. By 1925, Penfold determined that the oil was twelve times as potent as phenol, the standard by which all antiseptics were measured at the time.

Australian pharmacists and doctors then began dispensing tea tree as a front-line antiseptic. Bushmen and adventurers would not enter the wilderness without it. It was standard issue for first aid kits for British and Australian soldiers stationed in the tropics during WWII, and proved to be so valuable that workers who processed it were exempt from military duty. As with all things, demand soon quickly outstripped supply and interest waned after the advent of penicillin. Tea tree oil was almost forgotten; but, with the growing problems of antibiotic-resistant organisms, it has, once again, made a revival. Demand for the oil has increased from about ten tons in the early 1990s to more than two hundred tons today.

Extensive research in the 1960s showed that tea tree was very effective in treating a broad range of infectious conditions, especially fungal skin conditions, as well as warts, acne, and vaginal yeast infections.

Key Actions

  • strongly antimicrobial
  • antiseptic
  • immune stimulant

Key Components

  • volatile oil (percentages are variable, but basically -– terpinen-4-ol [40%], gamma-terpinene [24%], alpha-terpinene [10%], and cineol [5%])

Medicinal Parts

Leaves, essential oil

Scientists have identified eighty of the estimated one hundred compounds in tea tree oil, and a few are unique to the plant. Some of these compounds are active against viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

Most of these compounds are chemicals classified as either terpene hydrocarbons (pinene) or oxygenated terpenes (mostly 60% terpinen-4-ol plus cineole). Terpinen-4-ol is a powerful germacide, fungicide, and significantly antiseptic but well tolerated by the skin. Cineole, on the other hand, can irritate the skin of some people, but has expectorant and antiseptic properties. Cineole is also found in eucalyptus. It is these antiseptic properties that make it especially valuable in treating various skin infections.

It is especially useful as a hospital disinfectant as it kills antibiotic resistant strains of Staphylococcus.

Testing has found it effective against many other organisms as well, including all strains of candida except Epidermophyton floccosum, all sixty-four strains of Malassezia furfur, and eighty other types of disease-causing fungi. The following is a list of organisms that tea tree oil has proven its effectiveness against: aspergillus, bacteroides, Clostridium, Cryptosporidium, Diptheroids, E. coli, Enterobacter, Fusobacterium, Gonococcus, Hemophilus, Herpes viruses, Meningococcus, Microsporium, Peptococcus, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Spirochetes, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Trichinosis, Trichophyton.

Remedies

Crushed leaves have long been used in hot water as an inhalent to relieve sinus congestion.

Infusions made from crushed fresh leaves are used to treat coughs, colds, and skin infections. They are used internally to treat glandular fever and postviral fatigue syndrome (ME). They can also be used in household cleaning wash water, as well as in the laundry or diaper soaking water.

Oil or cream can be applied to athlete’s foot and ringworm, as well as to corns, warts, acne, boils, nail fungi, infected skin sores, burns, scrapes, wounds, insect stings, and many other skin conditions.

Mouthwash is used for oral infections and gum disease, as well as a gargle for sore throats.

Suppositories are used to treat vaginal infections.

Lotions, creams, or compresses ease the pain and itchiness of skin irritations.

Commercially prepared products available are as follows: pure oil, creams and ointments, mouthwashes, toothpicks, germicides, shampoos and conditioners, hand creams, bar soaps, pet shampoos, suppositories, lozenges, dental floss, massage oil, and deoderant.

Traditional Uses

Conditions where tea tree oil has proven useful and listed according to body region:

  • Head and Neck: dandruff, seborrhea, psoriasis, eczema, ringworm, furunculosis, razor cuts, mastoiditis, head lice, cradle cap, acne, and blackheads. Note: Nizoral has long been used to treat psoriasis of the scalp, but long term cures do not take place. In addition, it carries risk of systemic toxicity especially that of the liver. Tea tree does not cause this concern. It also produces fewer side effects than benzoyl peroxide, used to treat acne.
  • Face: razor cuts, acne
  • Mouth, Throat, Ears: controls oral bacteria when a few drops are added to a gargle and helps heal canker sores, cold sores, pyorrhea, cavities, toothaches, ear infections (outer and middle ear), sore throats, colds, thrush, halitosis; promotes the healing of gum disease, canker sores, and herpes sores
  • Hands: paronychia, fingernail fungus
  • Joints: arthritis, gout
  • Respiratory system: bronchitis, sinusitis, croup, tonsillitis
  • Urinary tract: cystitis
  • Rectum: shrinking hemorrhoids and reducing pain, including that of rectal fissures
  • Genitals: herpes and warts, vaginitis (including trichomonas), penile discharge, excessive odour, jock itch, chronic candidiasis
  • Feet: bromhidrosis, toenail fungus, ingrown toenails, calluses, corns, athelete’s foot.
  • Skin: kills microbes associated with skin infections, including bacteria or viruses in wounds; such fungal infections as ringworm or athlete’s foot, nail fungus, thrush, and jock itch ; and eczema, psoriasis, ringworm, boils, cuts, abrasions, scrapes, puncture wounds, bed sores, varicose ulcers, surgical lesions, burns, itchy or chapped skin, scabies, pilonidal cysts, impetigo, dermatitis, allergy rashes (including poison ivy, oak, and sumac), chicken pox and shingles, and animal bites (including those by dogs, cats, snakes, insects, and humans)
  • Joints: eases muscle and joint pain and inflammation

Also see our Surivon products which use tea tree essential oil to help symptoms of cold sores, shingles, herpes, and other antiviral skin care needs.

Aloe

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AloeBotanical Names

  • Family Liliaceae
  • Aloe vera, A. barbadensis, A. capensis, A. vulgaris, A. mexicana and other Aloe species

Common Names

  • Aloe, Aloe Vera, Barbados Aloe, Zanzibar Aloe, Curacao Aloe
  • Spanish: Sábila, Zábila

Cautions

  • It is not to be confused with Agave americana, sometimes known as American Aloe.
  • It can cause gastrointestinal cramping or contractions, so is contraindicated during pregnancy.
  • It should not be used internally by those suffering from intestinal obstructions, kidney disease, colitis, and intestinal inflammations.
  • In rare cases, heart arrythmias, kidney abnormalities, edema, and accelerated bone deterioration may occur.
  • Do not use the bitters on the skin.
  • Use as a laxative for only ten days at a time as long-term use can cause a loss of electrolytes, particularly potassium. Note that many “aloe” laxatives also contain senna, which is harder on the system and often, the real cause of the effectiveness of the laxative. Read the labels carefully. If aloe is not listed as the main ingredient, it is best to avoid that product.
  • Care must be taken when using many commercially prepared products that contain “aloe” as usually there is not enough included to be of much value medicinally.

Description

Native to eastern and southern Africa, aloes are now commonly cultivated worldwide, especially as houseplants. There are about 350 species of these perennials that also grow in the tropics, including Central and South America, India, and the Middle East. Aloes generally have prickly, gray-green succulent leaves that can reach a length of two feet and producing spikes of yellow or orange flowers. The leaves contain two different fluids — the inner portion is filled with a clear gel and the thick aloe skin contains a bitter yellow juice or latex.

History

Aloe has been used medicinally for more than 3500 years. Egyptian texts, dating to about 1500 BCE, describe its healing properties.

Alexander the Great used it to treat wounds.

Greece, Rome, China, India, West Indies all used it as a wound healer, laxative, and purgative.

Cleopatra is said to have attributed her beauty to it.

About the 6th century CE, Persian traders carried aloe throughout Asia. Marco Polo witnessed healers in the Orient using it.

A beautiful violet dye is produced from aloe plants (A. perryi) native to the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean. A desire for the plant is said to have motivated Alexander the Great to conquer the island in the 4th century BCE. 1400 years later, Muslim traders reported the island was still the only source of the herb, although it is now grown in Africa, China, India, and Central America.

The Spanish called the plant sábila after the Arabic word, saber, which means patience. The implication is unclear.

Even before the conquest of Mexico, aloe was heavily cultivated on the island of Barbados, leading to the naming of one botanical variety, Aloe barbadensis.

Similar to the maguey, aloe is often confused for that plant. Even Columbus assumed that he had “discovered” aloe, a plant he was familiar with in Spain; but it was actually a maguey which he took back with him.

Related species are used as an antidote for poison arrow wounds.

Key Actions

  • antibacterial
  • antibiotic
  • antifungal
  • anti-inflammatory
  • antimicrobial
  • antiulcer
  • antiviral
  • emollient
  • healing
  • laxative
  • purgative
  • stimulates bile secretions

Key Components

  • amino acids
  • anthraquinone glycosides (aloin, aloe-emodin)
  • aloectin B
  • enzymes
  • flavonoids
  • minerals
  • polysaccharides
  • resins
  • salicylic acid
  • steroid hormones
  • tannins
  • vitamins

Medicinal Parts

  • Clear gel (in the leaves), yellow sap from the base (bitter aloes)
  • The anthraquinone glycosides (aloin and aloe-emodin) are strongly laxative and can cause uterine contractions. This is the reason that aloes are contraindicated internally during pregnancy. These substances are not found in high levels in potted plants.
  • Aloectin B stimulates immune system.
  • The gel is made up of some seventy-five complex substances known to date. Many are made up of bioactive ingredients.
  • Aloin is a stimulant for peristalsis. However, in high doses, aloin will act as a powerful purgative with the effects lasting up to twelve hours.
  • It has been proven effective against Stapylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Herpes simplex 1 and 2.

Remedies

  • fresh gel — to heal wounds and burns, treat fungal infections and insect bites
  • dried bitters — as a short-term laxative
  • commercial juice from gel — for peptic ulcers
  • tinctures — to stimulate the appetite
  • ointment — made by boiling a large quantity of gel until a thick paste, then using like fresh leaves
  • inhalation of gel in a steam — to relieve bronchial congestion
  • powder in capsules — to relieve constipation and to stimulate bile flow

Traditional Uses

In general, the gel is used externally. The latex is dried and used in oral drugs, mostly laxatives. There is also a standardized aloe extract, derived from freeze-dried aloe gel that can be taken internally. Some form is commonly found in all manner of beauty treatments: lotions, shampoos, creams, suntan lotions.

When needed, fresh leaves are generally snipped off, opened up, and the gel applied to the affected area on the skin for minor burns, scalds, or sunburns. This gel also helps speed the healing of cuts and other minor wounds; helps prevent scarring; reduces tissue damage from frostbite; relieves skin irritation and inflammation from stings or bites, treats external hemorrhoids; and moisturizes and softens dry, itchy, or rough skin.

Internally, the aloe latex juice is used to treat constipation, but care must be taken as too much can result in it being a purgative. See cautions above.

Research is indicating that its use internally has an antifertility aspect inhibiting ovulation in rabbits and rats.

Although numerous tests have indicated that when aloe is used externally, it helps wounds heal, decreases inflammation, and relieves pain, it can also delay deep wound healing including that of surgery.

The powdered gel extract is taken internally to treat ulcers and other intestinal problems including diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease as well as to bolster immunity.

The latex contains bitter substances that increase bowel motility and loosens the stool. These actions are derived from compounds in the resin which stimulate bowel contractions and helps increase the amount of intestinal fluid resulting in a more watery stool that is propelled rapidly through the colon. For this reason, aloe should not be used on a regular basis as this rapid propulsion dramatically affects the time needed to absorb valuable nutrients into the system.

Chinese medicine uses aloe to treat fungal diseases.

Ayurvedic medicine uses it for stomach tumors, constipation, colic, skin disorders, amenorrhea, worm infestation, and infections

South Africa uses it for eye inflammations and syphillis.

Aloe and honey are two of the more powerful substances that can be applied externally to speed wound healing and prevent infections in burn victims. One especially important aspect is that both are liquid. This allows them to keep the burn tissue moist, soothe the damaged tissues, and restore lost body fluids directly through the skin, which is generally a problem for burn victims. At the same time, they are potent anti-inflammatories and antibacterials and it is nearly impossible for a staph infection to get started with these two substances present.

For educational purposes only.
This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.