Phytotherapeutic potential of tea tree essential oil in vitro and emerging vistas in the skincare industry: A comprehensive review

摘要

The search for pioneering phytotherapeutic approaches based on the use of new herbal compounds is gaining immense attention in modern therapy because of the lack of toxic adverse effects. Previous in vitro studies have demonstrated tea tree essential oil (TEO) as a valuable phytotherapeutic agent for a variety of purposes, covering the composition, medicinal properties, formulation development and toxicology. This review will give an overview of the historical and modern uses, ethnobotanical consideration, quality control, chemical composition and medicinal values, bioactivity reports and toxicity concerns of tea tree essential oil. Furthermore, the review attempts to discuss all literature to date pertaining to the biological properties of TEO with special emphasis on those that have phytotherapeutic potential for health. Future research needs to include more comprehensive chemical characterisation of extracts, quality control and identification of bio-markers of clinical exposure with regards to composition and bioactivity.