Is Tea Tree Oil an effective antimicrobial? How much Reality & how much Myth?

Tea Tree oil (TTO) is available in many brands by several famous companies with the promise that it cures most of the skin ailments like Acne and Psoriasis because of its antibacterial and antifungal activity. Australia is the biggest producer of TTO. It is claimed to be active against MRSA a deadly pathogen. Besides, it has been incorporated in products as antimicrobial laundry freshener, antidandruff shampoos, acne face wash, natural deodorant and household cleaners.

Our study on 550 strains of bacteria causing topical infections, Candida albicans for comparing TTO with 8 topical antibiotics (polymyxin B sulfate, gentamicin, nitrofurantoin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, cotrimoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and novobiocin) revealed that gentamicin was the most effective antibiotic followed by chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin and polymyxin B inhibiting 87.1%, 84.8%, 76.8%, 75% and 72.8% strains, respectively. Tea tree oil (at 1 μL/ mL) could inhibit the growth of 20.5% strains. Only 10% of multiple drug resistant (MDR) were sensitive to TTO. Though TTO is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial active on 26 out of 44 genera of bacteria is a less promising antimicrobial than antibiotics on MDR strains. The TTO is to be said very effective against staphylococci but this study revealed that in vitro only 12% staphylococci were sensitive to TTO. It is claimed that 5% TTO formulations are highly effective, no doubt in vitro 5% TTO can kill many of the bacteria but when applied to skin and bacteria causing infection are hiding a little deeper in the skin and at that site how much concentration of TTO reaches and in that concentration, how toxic is TTO to host cells?

कितना कारगर जीवाणुनाशक है टी ट्री का तेल?: कितना सच कितना भ्रम?

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312213824_Comparative_Antimicrobial_Activity_of_Tea_Tree_Oil_Melaleuca_Oil_and_Common_Topical_Antimicrobials_against_Bacteria_Associated_With_Wound_and_Topical_Infections

 टी ट्री के तेल को मुहाँसो और त्वचा के रोगों की बहुत कारगर दवा के तौर पर जाना जाता हैं और बहुत सी कंपनियाँ इसे बेच रही हैं. आस्ट्रेलिया टी ट्री तेल का सबसे बड़ा उत्पादक देश है. परंतु त्वचा में इंफेक्सन करने वाले 500 से ज़्यादा जीवाणुओ पर लैब में टेस्ट करने पर क्या मिला? सिर्फ़ 20% बॅक्टीरिया ही टी ट्री के तेल से प्रभावित हुए और जो बॅक्टीरिया 3-5 एंटी बायोटिक्स के लिए रेज़िस्टेंट थे उन पर तो ये तेल और भी कम प्रभावी था. अध्ययन से पता चला कि टी ट्री तेल सबसे कम प्रभावी एंटी-बायोटिक नोवो-बायोसिन से भी कम असरदार था.