Essential oils help combat infections

Eucalyptus and tea-tree oils are surprisingly effective at treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, according to new research from Australia.

When applied to the skin of infected wounds, an antibacterial wash derived from Eucalyptus radiata​ and Melaleuca alternifolia​, or eucalyptus and tea tree oils respectively, can work better than some modern antibiotics, according to Dr Eugene Sherry of the University of Sydney.

Dr Sherry used the combination of oils once a day for several months in a series of 25 patients with MRSA.He said that 22 of the infections disappeared completely, and that 19 of these were without the use of any modern antibiotics. The other three needed antibiotic treatment in addition to the oils.

Dr Sherry said he had become interested in the healing powers of essential oils after attending a lecture two years ago. He began researching the subject and discovered that there was a large amount of well-documented research already available, but that most of it had been abandoned with the arrival of modern antibiotics.

When Dr Sherry decided to initiate a trial of eucalyptus and tea-tree oil in MRSA patients, he discovered that Dr Patrick H. Warnke, an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Kiel in Germany, was carrying out a similar study, and the two combined their work to produce the 25-patient MRSA study.

Dr Warnke said they are now studying an aerosolised version of the compound in laboratory studies of tuberculosis. Initial tests have been very positive, and allegedly more effective than current antibiotics.