Auscan Melaleuca Ltd.

NEWSLETTER #7
OCTOBER 2005

The following article was published in the Australian Government, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Tea Tree Industry Research Newsletter.

HOSPITAL INTEREST IN TEA TREE OIL HAND WASH

Several hospitals are evaluating tea tree oil containing products for routine hand washing following favourable outcomes of a recently completed RIRDC-funded research project.

Professor Tom Riley of The University of Western Australia ran a hand wash trial using products containing tea tree oil and laboratory investigation of their effectiveness.

The test products included a 5% tea tree oil hygienic rub, which were compared to povidone iodine, a commonly used hospital hand wash.

The study was run to European guidelines with the intention of increasing the acceptability of tea tree oil as a naturally-occurring antimicrobial, both nationally and internationally.

Professor Riley said the tests showed that some tea tree oil formulations had antibacterial activity when used as hand washes.

“There was also evidence that tea tree oil activity can be enhanced by the addition of alcohol from the way that both the alcohol-containing skin wash and hand rub products passed the tests.”
“Tea tree oil products acted slower that many conventional disinfectants, and many participants commented on their gentle nature.”
“The results show that the effective formulations containing tea tree oil can play a role in reducing hospital-acquired infections, such as those caused by Staphylococcus aureus, or ‘golden staph’,” he said.

Professor Riley recommends that further testing and clinical trials be carried out on the use of tea tree oil products in a hospital setting.