Plants of the Melaleuca Genus as Antimicrobial Agents: From Farm to Pharmacy |
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| Authors: | Javad Sharifi‐Rad Bahare Salehi Elena Maria Varoni Farukh Sharopov Zubaida Yousaf Seyed Abdulmajid Ayatollahi Farzad Kobarfard Mehdi Sharifi‐Rad Mohammad Hossain Afdjei Majid Sharifi‐Rad Marcello Iriti |
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| Institution: | 1. Phytochemistry Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;2. Young Researchers and Elites Club, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran;3. Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, Milan State University, Milan, Italy;4. Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Avicenna Tajik State Medical University, Dushanbe, Tajikistan;5. Department of Botany, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan;6. Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;7. Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;8. Department of Medical Parasitology, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran;9. Rehabilitation College of Iran Medical Science University, Tehran, Iran;10. Department of Range and Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran;11. Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Milan State University, Milan, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Plants belonging to Melaleuca genus (Myrtaceae family) are native to Oceania, where they have been used for ages by Aborigine people in Australian traditional medicine, mainly because of their broad‐spectrum antimicrobial activity. Although, M. linariifolia, M. dissitiflora, and other species of Melaleuca can also be used, the tea tree oil, an essential oil obtained from M. alternifolia shows the longest history of medicinal uses. Tea tree oil contains for the 80–90% several monoterpenes (terpinen‐4‐ol, α‐terpinene, 1,8‐cineol, p‐cymene, α‐terpineol, α‐pinene, terpinolene, limonene, and sabinene). Sesquiterpenes and aromatic compounds further compose this oil. The essential oil of Melaleuca spp. has been reported to possess effective antibacterial and antifungal properties in vitro. In particular, data show that 1,8‐cineol, terpinen‐4‐ol and methyl eugenol play the key role in mediating this oil's antimicrobial activity. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | tea tree oil Australian traditional medicine Myrtaceae terpinen‐4‐ol 1 8‐cineol methyl eugenol |
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