In vitro activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil against dermatophytes and other filamentous fungi

Hammer, K.A., Carson, C.F. and Riley, T.V. (2002) In vitro activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil against dermatophytes and other filamentous fungi. The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, 50 (2). pp. 195-199.

Abstract

The in vitro activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil against dermatophytes (n = 106) and filamentous fungi (n = 78) was determined. Tea tree oil MICs for all fungi ranged from 0.004% to 0.25% and minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) ranged from <0.03% to 8.0%. Time-kill experiments with 1-4 x MFC demonstrated that three of the four test organisms were still detected after 8 h of treatment, but not after 24 h. Comparison of the susceptibility to tea tree oil of germinated and non-germinated Aspergillus niger conidia showed germinated conidia to be more susceptible than non-germinated conidia. These data demonstrate that tea tree oil has both inhibitory and fungicidal activity.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/35497

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