Niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia) Research

Latin Name: Melaleuca quinquenervia

Family: Myrtaceae

RESEARCH

The listings of research below represent a compilation of scientific articles found on the species, with a very brief overview description of each article/study.  Research found is catalogued by therapeutic action.  This categorized compilation of research articles does not necessarily imply that there are adequate results to demonstrate safe and/or effective human use.

GENERAL

• Lis-Balchin, M. (2006). Aromatherapy Science: A guide for healthcare professionals. London: Pharmaceutical Press.
• Peace Rhind, J.  (2012). Essential oils.  A handbook for aromatherapy practice.  Singing Drangon.  London.
• Petersen, D. (2015). Aromatherapy materia medica.  Essential oil monographs.  American College of Healthcare Sciences.

SAFETY

• Not to be confused with tea tree (M. alternifolia) or cajuput (M. leucadendron), both of the same Myrtaceae family.
• Four seasonal chemotypes based on 1,8-cineole, viridifloral, and nerolidol content (Petersen, 2015).
• Contraindicated for inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract, severe liver disease, and asthma.
• The 1,8-cineole content can irritate skin and mucous membranes, do not apply undiluted to wounds or inflammation (Petersen, 2015).
• 1,8-cineole may interfere with some prescription medications, including amphetamines, zoxazolamine, pentobarbital, and aminopyrine (Petersen, 2015).
• Essential oils high in 1,8-Cineole are not for use with young children.  From:  Day, L. M., Ozanne–Smith, J., Parsons, B. J., Dobbin, M., & Tibballs, J. (1997). Eucalyptus oil poisoning among young children: mechanisms of access and the potential for prevention. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 21(3), 297-302.
• The 1,8-cineole constituent can cause breathing issues and CNS issues in young children (Tisserand & Young, 2014).

INSECTICIDE / PESTICIDAL / REPELLENT

• Essential oils were tested against the yellow fever mosquito,  the malaria vector, and the filariasis and encephalitis vector.  The five most effective oils were those of Litsea cubeba (litsea), Melaleuca leucadendron (cajeput), Melaleuca quinquenervia (niaouli), Viola odorata (violet), and Nepeta cataria (catnip), with a protection time of 8 hours at 100% repellency against all three species.  From:  Amer, A., & Mehlhorn, H. (2006). Repellency effect of forty-one essential oils against Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex mosquitoes. Parasitology research, 99(4), 478-490.
• Niaouli was insecticidal and larvicidal against multiple tested misquito species.  From:  Leyva, M., French-Pacheco, L., Quintana, F., Montada, D., Castex, M., Hernandez, A., & del Carmen Marquetti, M. (2016). Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) ST Blake (Myrtales: Myrtaceae): Natural alternative for mosquito control. Asian Pacific journal of tropical medicine, 9(10), 979-984.
• Niaouli essential oil was antimicrobials and acaricides and may be useful to control pests in vegetables, citrus and sugar cane. From:  Pino, O., Sánchez, Y., Rojas, M. M., Rodríguez, H., Abreu, Y., Duarte, Y., … & Martínez, D. (2011). Chemical composition and pesticidal activity of Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav) ST Blake essential oil. Revista de Protección Vegetal, 26(3), 177-186.
• Australian plants demonstrated varying degrees of insect (mosquito) repellency and included: eucalyptus, tea tree, cajuput, manuka, balm mint bush, fragonia, myrtle, cypress, and niaouli. From: Webb, C. E. (2014). Insect repellents derived from Australian plants and implications for public health messages. Insect repellents handbook, 213.
• 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.

ANTI-PARASITE

• Citrus sinensis and Melaleuca quinquenervia showed varying anthelmintic activity against gastrointestinal nematodes with 1,8-cineole and limonene being active constituents.  Amounts needed to by anti-parasitic may not have been safe for the host; more research is necessary.   From:  Gaínza, Y. A., Domingues, L. F., Perez, O. P., Rabelo, M. D., López, E. R., & de Souza Chagas, A. C. (2015). Anthelmintic activity in vitro of Citrus sinensis and Melaleuca quinquenervia essential oil from Cuba on Haemonchus contortus. Industrial Crops and Products, 76, 647-652.

DRUG ABSORPTION ENHANCER

• Terpene mixtures as found in niaouli act as transdermal penetration enhancers for moderately lipophilic drugs like estradiol.  From: Monti, D., Chetoni, P., Burgalassi, S., Najarro, M., Saettone, M. F., & Boldrini, E. (2002). Effect of different terpene-containing essential oils on permeation of estradiol through hairless mouse skin. International journal of pharmaceutics, 237(1), 209-214.

IMPROVED IMMUNITY

• Niaouli was effective in controlling  infectious diseases in mice in vivo, in particular, those caused by intracellular pathogens.  From:  Nam, S. Y., Chang, M. H., Do, J. S., Seo, H. J., & Oh, H. K. (2008). Essential oil of niaouli preferentially potentiates antigen-specific cellular immunity and cytokine production by macrophages. Immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology, 30(3), 459-474.

RESPIRATORY HEALTH

• In this double blind, placebo controlled, multi-center, placebo controlled study with 242 patients, 200 mg of cineole three times a day reduced airway inflammation in COPD.   From:  Worth, H., Schacher, C., & Dethlefsen, U. (2009). Concomitant therapy with Cineole (Eucalyptole) reduces exacerbations in COPD: a placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Respiratory research, 10(1), 69.
• In a randomized double blind placebo controlled study of 152 patients, 100 mg of cineole three times a day reduced symptoms of acute sinusitis.  From:  Kehrl, W., Sonnemann, U., & Dethlefsen, U. (2004). Therapy for Acute Nonpurulent Rhinosinusitis With Cineole: Results of a Double‐Blind, Randomized, Placebo‐Controlled Trial. The Laryngoscope, 114(4), 738-742.
• Inhaled 1,8-cineole reduced inflammation in airways of guinea pigs. From:  Bastos, V. P., Gomes, A. S., Lima, F. J., Brito, T. S., Soares, P. M., Pinho, J. P., … & Magalhães, P. J. (2011). Inhaled 1, 8‐Cineole Reduces Inflammatory Parameters in Airways of Ovalbumin‐Challenged Guinea Pigs. Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology, 108(1), 34-39.
• 1,8-cineole was shown to improve symptoms of bronchial asthma.  From:  Juergens, U. R., Stöber, M., Schmidt-Schilling, L., Kleuver, T., & Vetter, H. (1998). Antiinflammatory effects of euclyptol (1.8-cineole) in bronchial asthma: inhibition of arachidonic acid metabolism in human blood monocytes ex vivo. European journal of medical research, 3(9), 407-412.
• 1,8-cineol controlled airway mucus hypersecretion by cytokine inhibition, and may be a useful treatment to reduce symptoms of asthma, sinusitis and COPD.  From:  Juergens, U. R., Engelen, T., Racké, K., Stöber, M., Gillissen, A., & Vetter, H. (2004). Inhibitory activity of 1, 8-cineol (eucalyptol) on cytokine production in cultured human lymphocytes and monocytes. Pulmonary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 17(5), 281-287.
• Cineole demonstrated good expectorant activity in patients in an emergency room.  Li, G. A. O. (1989). The expectorant effect of cineole compositus in 386 patients with respiratory diseases. 新药与临床, 6, 015

ANTIMICROBIAL / ANTIBACTERIAL / ANTIFUNGAL / ANTIVIRAL

• Plant oils of 52 species were tested against key bacteria.  Lemongrass, oregano and bay inhibited all organisms, and rosewood, coriander, palmarosa, tea tree, niaouli, peppermint, spearmint, sage and marjoram inhibited all organisms except P. aeruginosa.  Carrot, patchouli, sandalwood and vetiver inhibited Gram-positive bacteria and C. albicans. Myrrh and cypress inhibited only Gram-positive organisms and mandarin oil inhibited only C. albicans.  From:  Hammer, K. A., Carson, C. F., & Riley, T. V. (1999). Antimicrobial activity of essential oils and other plant extracts. Journal of applied microbiology, 86(6), 985-990.
• Niaouli reduced topical bacteria in massage therapy.  From:  Donoyama, N., & Ichiman, Y. (2006). Which essential oil is better for hygienic massage practice?. International Journal of Aromatherapy, 16(3), 175-179.
• Varicella virus was reduced with niaouli. From: Gilligan, N. (2005). Successful treatment of the varicella virus in hospice patients, using essential oils of Ravensara aromatica, Citrus bergamia and Melaleuca viridiflora var. quinquenervia. NAHA Journal, 14, 3.
• Niaouli showed antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activity in vitro.  From:  Siddique, S., Mazhar, S., & Parveen, Z. (2018). Chemical characterization, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil from Melaleuca quinquenervia leaves.
• A mix of tea tree, niaouli, and beta triketones from melaleuca were effective against Staphylococcus aureus and Moraxella catarrhalis.  From:  Christoph, F., Kaulfers, P. M., & Stahl-Biskup, E. (2001). In vitro evaluation of the antibacterial activity of β-triketones admixed to Melaleuca oils. Planta medica, 67(08), 768-771.
• Antibacterial activity of Australian tea tree, cajuput, niaouli, kanuka, manuka, and eucalyptus oil were assessed.  From:  Harkenthal, M., Reichling, J., Geiss, H. K., & Saller, R. (1999). Comparative study on the in vitro antibacterial activity of Australian tea tree oil, cajuput oil, niaouli oil, manuka oil, kanuka oil, and eucalyptus oil. Die Pharmazie, 54(6), 460-463.
• Anethole anisata, Callistris glaucophyllia, Melaleuca spp. and Thyptomine calycina, showed in vitro antimicrobial activity against multiple pathogens.  From:  Wilkinson, J. M., & Cavanagh, H. (2005). Antibacterial activity of essential oils from Australian native plants. Phytotherapy Research, 19(7), 643-646.
• Melaleuca alternifolia, Melaleuca quinquenervia and Backhousia citriodora showed antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus carbonarius in vitro.  From:  de Andrade Santiago, J., das Graças Cardoso, M., Batista, L. R., Santiago, W. D., Passamani, F. R. F., Rodrigues, L. M. A., & Nelson, D. L. (2018). Effect of the essential oils from Melaleuca alternifolia, Melaleuca quinquenervia and Backhousia citriodora on the synthesis of ochratoxin A by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus carbonarius isolated from tropical wine grapes. Journal of food science and technology, 55(1), 418-423.  
• Australian tea tree oil, cajuput, niaouli, lema, kanuka, and manuka showed antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus.  From:  Christoph, F., Stahl-Biskup, E., & Kaulfers, P. M. (2001). Death kinetics of Staphylococcus aureus exposed to commercial tea tree oils sl. Journal of Essential Oil Research, 13(2), 98-102.
• The antimicrobial activities of Melaleuca spp is reviewed. From: Sharifi‐Rad, J., Salehi, B., Varoni, E. M., Sharopov, F., Yousaf, Z., Ayatollahi, S. A., … & Iriti, M. (2017). Plants of the Melaleuca genus as antimicrobial agents: From farm to pharmacy. Phytotherapy Research, 31(10), 1475-1494.
• 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.
• Naouli essential oil was active against Legionella. Dobrić, S., Burul, M., Rumac, N., Staver, M. M., & Gobin, I. (2016, January). Anti-Legionella potential of Niaouli Essential Oil. In 15th ZIMS.

NEUROPROTECTIVE

• In a review of essential oils from the Myrtaceae family, those containing higher amounts of 1,8-cineole demonstrated the highest activity to inhibit the AchE.  Alzheimer’s disease is related to a loss of neuron function and neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh).  From:  Petrachaianan, T., Chaiyasirisuwan, S., Athikomkulchai, S., & Sareedenchai, V. (2019). Screening of acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity in essential oil from Myrtaceae. TJPS, 43(1), 63-68. 

ANTIOXIDANT

• Niaouli showed antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activity in vitro.  From:  Siddique, S., Mazhar, S., & Parveen, Z. (2018). Chemical characterization, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of essential oil from Melaleuca quinquenervia leaves.

ANTISEPTIC

• Niaouli essential oil was active against Legionella. Dobrić, S., Burul, M., Rumac, N., Staver, M. M., & Gobin, I. (2016, January). Anti-Legionella potential of Niaouli Essential Oil. In 15th ZIMS.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

• 1,8-cineole may be effective  as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent.  From:  Santos, F. A., & Rao, V. S. N. (2000). Antiinflammatory and antinociceptive effects of 1, 8-cineole a terpenoid oxide present in many plant essential oils. Phytotherapy research, 14(4), 240-244.
• This article discussed the effect of 1,8- cineole on mast cells related to rat paw inflammation.  From:  Santos, F. A., & Rao, V. S. (1997). Mast cell involvement in the rat paw oedema response to 1, 8-cineole, the main constituent of eucalyptus and rosemary oils. European journal of pharmacology, 331(2), 253-258.

By: Kathy Sadowski

Updated: 9/18/19