The wonder oils: tea tree, neem and oregano are potent, all-purpose healers

Vegetarian Times, August, 1998 by Norine Dworkin

Tea tree, neem and oregano are potent, all-purpose healers.

The plant kingdom offers natural remedies for nearly every ailment. But why juggle a dozen herbal oils when a jack-of-all-trades works just as well. The following essential oils, tea tree, neem and oregano, are true multitaskers. And because they're highly concentrated--just one drop of essential oil equals about 30 cups of herbal tea--a small bottle goes a long way.

TEA TREE OIL (Melaleuca alternifolia)

Derived from the leaves of the Melaleuca tree and packed with the active ingredient terpinen-4-ol, tea tree oil is highly prized for its versatility. "I realized that I could do what three-quarters of the items in a drug store could do with one bottle of tea tree oil," says Cynthia Olsen, author of Australian Tea Tree Oil Guide (Kali Press, 1997). "I won't go anywhere without it."

Used by Australian aborigines for centuries, tea tree oil began attracting wider attention when the 18th-century explorer Capt. James Cook discovered the lush Melaleuca groves in New South Wales. He dubbed them "tea trees" for the spicy tea brewed from their leaves and brought samples back to England.

Australian medical journals have documented tea tree oil's antiseptic and antibacterial properties since the late 1920s, and the pungent oil was standard issue for all Australian military first-aid kits until the 1930s, when synthetic antibiotics began to eclipse this natural healer. Today, with many "supergerms" resisting even the strongest antibiotics, tea tree oil's popularity is again on the rise. (Plant oils are believed to suffocate bacteria, which is why they don't become resistant.) Microbiologists at the University of East London are studying its effectiveness against Staphylococcus aureus, a dangerous pathogen found in hospitals. A study published in 1995 in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy found that a dilution of 0.5 percent tea tree oil killed this bacterium in test tubes.

For at-home use, tea tree oil is great for disinfecting minor cuts, abrasions and burns. Parents should keep a bottle of pure oil handy when school starts because it makes a highly effective, nontoxic lice remedy. Just mix 5 drops of tea tree oil with 5 drops of eucalyptus oil and 6 drops of lavender oil in 2 ounces of almond or olive oil. Saturate hair and Scalp, cover with plastic and let sit for 2 hours. Then comb hair with special nit comb and wash. Repeat daily until lice are gone.

Gargling twice daily with a few drops in warm water relieves sore throats. Rubbed on the nose and forehead, it alleviates head congestion. A few drops on the chest and back breaks up a phlegmy cough.

But tea tree oil is known as an effective acne fighter. A 1990 study by Lederle Laboratories and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Great Britain found that a 5 percent tea tree oil gel was as effective as benzoyl peroxide in treating acne, with less drying, stinging and redness. Use a commercially prepared ointment, available in natural health stores, or dab undiluted oil right on pimples.

Tea tree oil's antifungual properties also are well-documented. A double-blind study published in the Journal of Family Practice (June 1994) found that pure tea tree oil relieved nail fungus as effectively as 1 percent clotrimazole, a topical antifungal drug. And in 1985, researchers at the University of Paris studied 28 women who used tea tree oil suppositories to combat Candida albicans, the common yeast infection. After one month, 21 women showed a complete recovery. Dilute a few drops of tea tree oil in a spoonful of water, put it on a tampon and leave inserted for 24 hours.

You'll find tea tree oil in plenty of commercial first-aid and beauty products. You also can use the undiluted essential oil or make your own preparations. Before treating yourself, rub a small amount on your inner arm to be sure you're not allergic.

NEEM (Azadiracta indica)

Affectionately called "the village pharmacy," India's neem tree is practically a first-aid kit in itself. Packed with the antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antihistamine, antiseptic, spermicidal and immune-system stimulating components nimbin and nimbidin, neem is said to do everything from repelling insects to preventing pregnancy. "It's a great family first-aid herb," says Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, a Seattle-based herbalist and co-author of Herbal Defense (Warner Books, 1997).

Neem's role in medicine predates the codification of India's natural healing system, Ayurveda; indeed, its uses were well-documented in the ancient texts on which Ayurveda is based. Perhaps because they are so versatile (and they thrive under the harshest conditions) neem trees are cherished in India. Hindu folklore holds that one who plants three neem trees lives for three epochs in the "sun world" and never goes to hell.

Neem oil is found primarily in topical health and beauty products, where its strong scent (akin to raw garlic or burnt coffee) is often masked by more pleasant oils. Although few studies have been done on neem oil, 4,500 years of continued use bear out its efficacy: Added to toothpaste and mouthwash, it prevents cavities and gingivitis; in creams (containing at least 25 percent neem oil), it combats vaginal infections and sexually transmitted diseases; in soaps and shampoos, it kills lice, ringworm and scabies; mixed with equal parts vegetable oil and water, it makes a healing soak for athlete's foot; undiluted, it repels fleas, ticks, mosquitoes and flies. And test tube and human studies done at India's Defense Institute of Physiology and Allied Science found that neem oil mixed with Indian soap nut extract and quinine was nearly 100 percent effective as a spermicide.