News from CRIS: Essential Oils - Digging Deeper Tea Tree Oil

August 31, 2020

What is an essential oil?

Essential oils are compounds extracted from various plant parts, including flowers, leaves, bark, seeds, roots, twigs, and more.
 
Manufacturers typically use essential oils as flavor or aroma enhancers in cosmetics, food additives, soaps, plastic resins, perfumes, and more.

In the case of tea tree oil, it's more commonly used topically on the skin and can contain numerous types of oil.

What is tea tree oil?

Tea tree oil, also known as "melaleuca oil" or "ti tree oil," has been used for more than 100 years (1,2). Manufacturers produce tea tree oil via a steam distillation technique on the Melaleuca alternifolia (Myrtaceae) tree native to Australia (1,2). 

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Read the entire blog post at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/essential-oils-digging-deeper-tea-tree-oil.