Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (1995) 35, 421-424
© 1995 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
brief-report |
Susceptibility of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to the essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia
aDepartment of Microbiology, The University of Western Australia, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia bLaboratory of Hospital Infection, Central Public Health Laboratory, Public Health Laboratory Service 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT, UK cNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
Received 26 July 1994; accepted 26 October 1994
All 66 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus tested were susceptible to the essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia, or tea tree oil, in disc diffusion and modified broth microdilution methods. Of the isolates tested, 64 were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and 33 were mupirocin-resistant. The MIC and MBC for 60 Australian isolates were 0·25% and 0·50%, respectively. Comparable results were obtained by co-workers in Britain using similar methods. These in-vitro results suggest tea tree oil may be useful in the treatment of MRSA carriage.
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