Melaleuca cajeputi leaves and twigs, steam distilled, from Indonesia.
Aroma: Fresh, campherous aroma with a fruity note, it resembles a sweet tea tree or gentler eucalyptus or the combined fragrance of camphor, rosemary, and cardamom.
History: It is variously known as White tea-tree, Broad-leaved tea-tree, Paper-barked tea-tree, Swamp tea-tree, and White-wood. The essential oil has been part of traditional medicine since ancient times.
Colour: Clear with a Yellow Tinge
Consistency: Watery
Perfumery Note: Middle
Strength of Initial Aroma: Medium
Common Uses: Used chiefly as a local application in skin disease and as a stimulating expectorant. Mildly analgesic, antimicrobial, antineuralgic, antispasmodic, antiseptic (pulmonary, urinary, intestinal), anthelminthic, diaphoretic, carminative, expectorant, febrifuge, insecticide, sudorific, tonic.
Possible Uses: Asthma, bronchitis, coughs, muscle aches, oily skin, rheumatism, sinusitis, sore throat, spots. [Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 58-63.]
Constituents: a-pinene, B-pinene, myrcene, a-terpinene, limonene, 1,8-cineole, y-terpinene, p-cymene, terpinolene, linaolool, terpinen-4-ol, a-terpineol. [L. Williams, "The Composition and Bactericidal Activity of oil of Melaleuca alternifolia," International Journal of Aromatherapy, Vol 1., No. 3, 15, cited in Salvatore Battaglia, The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy (Australia: The Perfect Potion, 1997), 147.]
Safety Information: May cause skin irritation. [Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 170.]
Essential Oil Safety by Robert Tisserand does not indicate any special precautions when using this oil. [Robert Tisserand, Essential Oil Safety (United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone, 1995), 203.]
Cautions: No known toxicity. Avoid during pregnancy.