Tea tree oil: a potential alternative for the management of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Abstract

Complementary and alternative medicines occupy a privileged marketing position in many countries, including Australia, being able to carry low-level health claims while being relatively unfettered by regulatory requirements. Consequently, many enjoy widespread use for therapeutic purposes in the absence of definitive efficacy or safety data. Occasionally, the therapeutic properties of complementary and alternative medicines are scrutinised more closely and more thoroughly than their conventional counterparts, leading to the confirmation or discrediting of their properties.