Eucalyptus is a popular essential oil, tested for its antimicrobial properties, and often used as an insect repellent and to open breathing.
- Cinnamon, lemongrass, cedarwood, clove and eucalyptus oils exhibit antibacterial property against S. mutans. From: Chaudhari, L. K. D., Jawale, B. A., Sharma, S., Kumar, H. S. M., & Kulkarni, P. A. (2012). Antimicrobial activity of commercially available essential oils against Streptococcus mutans. The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice, 13(1), 71-74.
- Against the oral bacteria: Streptococcus mutans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus, the 13 most effective essential oils were: myrrh, ginger, basil, carrot seed, tea tree, patchouli, ylang ylang, cypress, lemongrass, cinnamon, peppermint, lavender, and eucalyptus. From: Park, C., & Yoon, H. (2018). Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oil against Oral Strain. International Journal of Clinical Preventive Dentistry, 14(4), 216-221.
- Aegle, ageratum, citronella, eucalyptus, geranium, lemongrass, orange, palmarosa, patchouli and peppermint, were tested for antibacterial activity against 22 bacteria, and twelve fungi. From: Pattnaik, S., Subramanyam, V. R., & Kole, C. (1995). Antibacterial and antifungal activity of ten essential oils in vitro. Microbios, 86(349), 237-246.
- Cinnamon and eucalyptus oils showed antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens. From: Fani, M. M., & Kohanteb, J. (2019). Inhibitory activity of Cinnamomum zeylanicum and eucalyptus globulus oils on Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida species isolated from patients with oral infections. Journal of Dentistry, 11(Supplement Winter 2011), 14-22.
- Thirty plant oils were tested and eucalyptus, peppermint, ginger grass and clove showed strong antifungal activity against Candida albicans. From: Agarwal, V., Lal, P., & Pruthi, V. (2008). Prevention of Candida albicans biofilm by plant oils. Mycopathologia, 165(1), 13-19.
- Essential oils of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Mentha spicata significantly retard dental biofilm formation. From: Rasooli, I., Shayegh, S., & Astaneh, S. D. A. (2009). The effect of Mentha spicata and Eucalyptus camaldulensis essential oils on dental biofilm. International journal of dental hygiene, 7(3), 196-203.
- Essential oils from eucalyptus, tea tree, and thyme, and their isolated constituents showed antiviral activity against herpes in vitro. From: Astani, A., Reichling, J., & Schnitzler, P. (2010). Comparative study on the antiviral activity of selected monoterpenes derived from essential oils. Phytotherapy Research: An International Journal Devoted to Pharmacological and Toxicological Evaluation of Natural Product Derivatives, 24(5), 673-679.
Thirty essential oils were tested against pathogenic plant bacteria. Ceylon cinnamon (leaf and bark), oregano, clove bud, palmarosa, basil, peppermint, rosemary, blue gum, camphor, lemongrass, aniseed, ylang ylang, silver fir, lemon, dwarf mountain pine, bay laurel, scots pine, black cumin, Indian frankincense, bergamot orange, common juniper, bitter orange, and neem showed varying degrees of reaction. From: Popović, T., Milićević, Z., Oro, V., Kostić, I., Radović, V., Jelušić, A., & Krnjajić, S. (2018). A preliminary study of antibacterial activity of thirty essential oils against several important plant pathogenic bacteria. Pesticidi i fitomedicina, 33(3-4), 185-195.
Clove, cajeput, tea tree, naiouli, and eucalyptus showed varying degrees of activity against Penicillium commune. From: Tančinová, D., Foltinová, D., Mašková, Z., Štefániková, J., & Árvay, J. (2019). Effect of essential oils of Myrtaceae plants on the Penicillium commune. Potravinarstvo Slovak Journal of Food Sciences, 13(1), 604-613.
Tea tree and eucalyptus essential oil aerosol and vapours cleared 95% of influenza A virus and E. coli phage M13 within 5 – 15 minutes of exposure. From: Usachev, E. V., Pyankov, O. V., Usacheva, O. V., & Agranovski, I. E. (2013). Antiviral activity of tea tree and eucalyptus oil aerosol and vapour. Journal of aerosol science, 59, 22-30.
Ten minutes of exposure of vapors from essential oils Citrus bergamia, Eucalyptus globulus, and the constituents citronellol and eugenol were very active against the influenza virus. Vapors of Pelargonium graveolens, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and Cymbopogon flexuosus were very active with 30 minutes of exposure. Further, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Citrus bergamia, Cymbopogon flexuosus and Thymus vulgaris liquid essential oils displayed 100% inhibitory activity at a 3.1 µL/mL concentration. From: Vimalanathan, S., & Hudson, J. (2014). Anti-influenza virus activity of essential oils and vapors. American Journal of Essential Oils and Natural Products, 2(1), 47-53.
Blends with Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Daucus carota, Eucalyptus globulus, Rosmarinus officinalis, Syzygium aromaticum, and Origanum vulgare showed in vitro antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activities against antibiotic resistant pathogens, candida strains, and both the H1N1 and HSV1 viruses. From: Brochot, A., Guilbot, A., Haddioui, L., & Roques, C. (2017). Antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral effects of three essential oil blends. MicrobiologyOpen, 6(4), e00459.
A blend of cinnamon bark, clove bud, sweet orange, eucalyptus, and rosemary essential oils reduced flu virus activity in vitro. From: Wu, S., Patel, K. B., Booth, L. J., Metcalf, J. P., Lin, H. K., & Wu, W. (2010). Protective essential oil attenuates influenza virus infection: an in vitro study in MDCK cells. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 10(1), 69.
- Eucalyptus ssp. were insecticidal and repellent against Sitophilus zeamais. From: Mossi, A. J., Astolfi, V., Kubiak, G., Lerin, L., Zanella, C., Toniazzo, G., … & Restello, R. (2011). Insecticidal and repellency activity of essential oil of Eucalyptus sp. against Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera, Curculionidae). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 91(2), 273-277.
- Multiple Australian plants have provided mosquito repelling activity in studies, including eucalyptus, tea tree, balm mint bush, and more. From: Webb, C. E. (2014). Insect repellents derived from Australian plants and implications for public health messages. Insect repellents handbook, 213.
- Eucalyptus saligna and Cupressus sempervirens leaves and the constituent cymol were tested against Sitophilus zeamais and Tribolium confusum and results suggested they might be used in grain storage against insect pests. From: Tapondjou, A. L., Adler, C., Fontem, D. A., Bouda, H., & Reichmuth, C. H. (2005). Bioactivities of cymol and essential oils of Cupressus sempervirens and Eucalyptus saligna against Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky and Tribolium confusum du Val. Journal of Stored Products Research, 41(1), 91-102.
- Eucalyptus was discussed as a valuable environmentally friendly pesticide. From: Batish, D. R., Singh, H. P., Kohli, R. K., & Kaur, S. (2008). Eucalyptus essential oil as a natural pesticide. Forest Ecology and Management, 256(12), 2166-2174.
- Three types of eucalyptus showed fumigant anctivity against lice, with 1,8-cineole being an active constituent. From: Toloza, A. C., Lucia, A., Zerba, E., Masuh, H., & Picollo, M. I. (2008). Interspecific hybridization of Eucalyptus as a potential tool to improve the bioactivity of essential oils against permethrin-resistant head lice from Argentina. Bioresource technology, 99(15), 7341-7347.
- Eucalyptus oil used when washing bed sheets and clothing may reduce dust mites and allergens. From: Tovey, E. R., & McDonald, L. G. (1997). A simple washing procedure with eucalyptus oil for controlling house dust mites and their allergens in clothing and bedding. Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 100(4), 464-466.
- The study showed the following as possible termite fumigants: Melaleuca dissitiflora, Melaleuca uncinata, Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus polybractea, Eucalyptus radiata, Eucalyptus dives, Eucalyptus globulus, Orixa japonica, Cinnamomum cassia, Allium cepa, Illicium verum, Evodia officinalis, Schizonepeta tenuifolia, Cacalia roborowskii, Juniperus chinensis var. horizontalis, Juniperus chinensis var. kaizuka, clove bud, and garlic as well as the constituents of Diallyl trisulfide was the most toxic, followed by diallyl disulfide, eugenol, diallyl sulfide, and β-caryophyllene. From: Park, I. K., & Shin, S. C. (2005). Fumigant activity of plant essential oils and components from garlic (Allium sativum) and clove bud (Eugenia caryophyllata) oils against the Japanese termite (Reticulitermes speratus Kolbe). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53(11), 4388-4392.
- Essential oils of Eucalyptus globulus, Lavender officinalis, Rosemarinus officinalis, and Thymus vulgaris showed repellent activities against the mosquito: Culex pipiens pallens. Thyme was the strongest and constituents that were effective included alpha-terpinene, thymol, p-cymene, carvacrol, and linalool. From: Choi, W. S., Park, B. S., Ku, S. K., & Lee, S. E. (2002). Repellent activities of essential oils and monoterpenes against Culex pipiens pallens. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 18(4), 348-351.
- The following plant oils showed repellent activity against the mosquito Aedes aegypti: Acantholippia seriphioides, Achyrocline satureioides, Aloysia citriodora (lemon verbena), Anemia tomentosa, Baccharis spartioides, Chenopodium ambrosioides, Eucalyptus saligna, Hyptis mutabilis, Minthostachys mollis (mint), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), Tagetes minuta and Tagetes pusilla (marigold). From: Gillij, Y. G., Gleiser, R. M., & Zygadlo, J. A. (2008). Mosquito repellent activity of essential oils of aromatic plants growing in Argentina. Bioresource technology, 99(7), 2507-2515.
- Of 53 tested plant oils, bay, caraway seed, clove leaf, lemon eucalyptus, lime, pennyroyal, peppermint, rosewood, spearmint, and tea tree oils were highly effective against the greenhouse whitefly. From: Choi, W. I., Lee, E. H., Choi, B. R., Park, H. M., & Ahn, Y. J. (2003). Toxicity of plant essential oils to Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). Journal of Economic Entomology, 96(5), 1479-1484.
Essential oil from eucalyptus was insecticidal against the house fly. From: Kumar, P., Mishra, S., Malik, A., & Satya, S. (2012). Compositional analysis and insecticidal activity of Eucalyptus globulus (family: Myrtaceae) essential oil against housefly (Musca domestica). Acta tropica, 122(2), 212-218.
A review of plant based mosquitoe repellents is provided. Much research is available on plants of the Eucalyptus spp., Ocimum spp. and Cymbopogon sp. From: Rehman, J. U., Ali, A., & Khan, I. A. (2014). Plant based products: use and development as repellents against mosquitoes: a review. Fitoterapia, 95, 65-74.
The repellency of Austrailian plants of the Myrtaceae family is reviewed. From: Webb, C. E. (2014). Insect repellents derived from Australian plants and implications for public health messages. Insect repellents handbook, 213.