Eucalyptus was brought to California from Australia to drain swamps; now, it’s everywhere. Despite its invasive ecology, we still love it, not least for the heady smell it imparts to our morning walks. That scent changes a little once the leaves are steam distilled into essential oil—that’s because distillation only captures molecules of a certain size. Medicinally, though, those are the ones that count: Eucalyptol (1, 8-cineole), the active ingredient of the eucalyptus oil, is responsible for its various pharmacological actions.[1] Eucalyptus oil is super antimicrobial,[2] and has exhibited antibacterial activity against Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria—including those resistant to commonly used antimicrobial agents.[3] [4] It’s also has analgesic (pain-relieving) and anti-inflammatory properties, making it great for sore muscles.[5] [6]

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Pacific Scrub

Citations

[1] Trivedi, N. A., and S. C. Hotchandani. "A study of the antimicrobial activity of oil of Eucalyptus." Indian Journal of pharmacology 36.2 (2004): 93.

[2] E. R. Hendry, T. Worthington, B. R. Conway, P. A. Lambert; Antimicrobial efficacy of eucalyptus oil and 1,8-cineole alone and in combination with chlorhexidine digluconate against microorganisms grown in planktonic and biofilm cultures. J Antimicrob Chemother 2009; 64 (6): 1219-1225. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkp362

[3] Trivedi and Hotchandani.

[4] Sherry, Eugene, Harry Boeck, and Patrick H. Warnke. "Topical application of a new formulation of eucalyptus oil phytochemical clears methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection." American journal of infection control 29.5 (2001): 346.

[5] Göbel, H., G. Schmidt, and D. Soyka. "Effect of peppermint and eucalyptus oil preparations on neurophysiological and experimental algesimetric headache parameters." Cephalalgia 14.3 (1994): 228-234. [Link]

[6] Coelho-de-Souza, Lívia Noronha, et al. "Relaxant effects of the essential oil of Eucalyptus tereticornis and its main constituent 1, 8-cineole on guinea-pig tracheal smooth muscle." Planta medica 71.12 (2005): 1173-1175. [Link]