title: In vitro activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil against dermatophytes and other filamentous fungi.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia. khammer@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Carson
authors.forename: T V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Riley
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003883:Arthrodermataceae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D031650:Melaleuca; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods; D020947:Tea Tree Oil / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D020947:Tea Tree Oil