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The Mode of Antimicrobial Action of The Essential Oil of Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree Oil) : S.D. COX ET AL
The Mode of Antimicrobial Action of The Essential Oil of Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree Oil) : S.D. COX ET AL
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S .D . C O X, C. M . M AN N , J .L . MA RK H AM , H . C. BE L L, J. E . G US T AF SO N , J .R . WA RM I NG TO N AN D S . G.
The essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) exhibits broad-spectrum
W YL LI E . 2000.
antimicrobial activity. Its mode of action against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia
coli AG100, the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 8325, and the yeast
Candida albicans has been investigated using a range of methods. We report that exposing
these organisms to minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal/fungicidal concentrations
of tea tree oil inhibited respiration and increased the permeability of bacterial cytoplasmic
and yeast plasma membranes as indicated by uptake of propidium iodide. In the case of E.
coli and Staph. aureus, tea tree oil also caused potassium ion leakage. Differences in the
susceptibility of the test organisms to tea tree oil were also observed and these are interpreted
in terms of variations in the rate of monoterpene penetration through cell wall and cell
membrane structures. The ability of tea tree oil to disrupt the permeability barrier of cell
membrane structures and the accompanying loss of chemiosmotic control is the most likely
source of its lethal action at minimum inhibitory levels.
RESULTS
Fig. 2 Effects of tea tree oil concentration on O2 consumption rates Fig. 4 Effects of 0·25% v/v tea tree oil on potassium ion efflux in
in cell suspensions of E. coli AG100 (), Staph. aureus NCTC 8325 cell suspensions of E. coli AG100 and Staph. aureus NCTC 8325.
(ž) and C. albicans KEM H5 (). Error bars represent the standard () E. coli, 0·25% v/v tea tree oil; (ž) E. coli, no tea tree oil; ()
deviation (n 3) of data from replicate experiments. In some cases S. aureus, 0·25% v/v tea tree oil; (Ž), Staph. aureus, no tea tree oil
the error bars are small enough to be obscured by data symbols
DISCUSSION
In this study, tea tree oil inhibited respiration in E. coli,
Staph. aureus and C. albicans cells at minimum inhibitory
levels. The possibility that tea tree oil directly inhibits a
specific respiratory enzyme or metabolic event cannot be
eliminated. However, our findings also reveal that minimum
inhibitory levels of tea tree oil altered cell membrane struc-
© 2000 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Journal of Applied Microbiology 88, 170–175
174 S .D . C O X E T A L .
ture. Increased uptake of the nucleic acid stain propidium In spite of similar MIC/MBC values, the micro-organisms
iodide, to which the cell membrane is normally impermeable, studied here showed obvious differences in their sus-
was observed. Also, leakage of potassium ions commenced ceptibility to tea tree oil. The rate of viability decline of C.
immediately upon adding tea tree oil to suspensions con- albicans in 0·25% (v/v) tea tree oil was less than that seen for
taining E. coli and within 5 min for Staph. aureus cells. E. coli in the same concentration and for Staph. aureus the
In the case of C. albicans, we did not detect the appearance rate of inactivation was slower than that of either E. coli or
of potassium ions in cell supernatants containing 0·25% (v/v) C. albicans. The relative inhibition of respiration and the
tea tree oil. However, the propidium iodide staining of C. extent of membrane damage of these different micro-organ-
albicans cells exposed to tea tree oil is a clear indication of isms follow the same pattern. Given the broad spectrum
damage to the plasma membrane. It may be that potassium activity of tea tree oil and its general membrane-damaging
ions do not appear in cell supernatants (after up to 2 h effect, it is likely that this variability reflects the rate at which
exposure) because they remain incorporated in the thick layer its active components diffuse through the cell wall and into
of the C. albicans cell wall. Given the increased permeability the phospholipid regions of cell membrane structures.
to propidium iodide, it seems unlikely that the plasma mem- In conclusion, our observations confirm that the antimicro-
brane would have remained impermeable to potassium ions. bial activity of tea tree oil results from its ability to disrupt
Further confirmation of the general toxicity of tea tree oil to the permeability barrier of microbial membrane structures.
membrane structures is provided by its permeabilising effect This mode of action is the same against E. coli, Staph. aureus
on multilamellar liposomes. and C. albicans and is similar to that of other broad-spectrum,
Previously, we have shown that tea tree oil inhibits res- membrane-active disinfectants and preservatives, such as
piration and causes leakage of cellular potassium in E. coli at phenol derivatives, chlorhexidine (see McDonnell and Rus-
minimum inhibitory levels (Cox et al. 1998). These effects, sell 1999) and parabenzoic acid derivatives (Sox 1997).
along with the findings presented here, indicate that tea tree
oil damages cell membrane structure in E. coli, Staph. aureus
and C. albicans. The cytoplasmic membranes of bacteria and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
the plasma and mitochondrial membranes of yeast provide a
This work was wholly funded by the Australian Tea Tree Oil
barrier to the passage of small ions such as H+, K+, Na+ and
Research Institute (ATTORI), Lismore, New South Wales,
Ca2+ and allow cells and organelles to control the entry and
Australia.
exit of different compounds. This permeability barrier role
of cell membranes is integral to many cellular functions,
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