The Health Benefits of Mānuka Oil

Mānuka oil is an oil compound obtained from the Leptospermum scoparium or mānuka plant. The oil is contained in tiny sacs in the small, pointed leaves. We make our mānuka oil using a distillation process, taking the plant matter and turning it into a clear, non-viscous oil. Mānuka oil is a powerful antibacterial agent, with anti-fungal properties as well. It contains high levels of triketones and various terpene molecules, which give it a strong, pleasant scent and are responsible for its antimicrobial properties.

Tea-tree oil vs Mānuka oil 

Tea-tree oil is the oil taken from the Australian tea-tree, which is native to southeast Queensland and the northeast coast of New South Wales. Manuka and tea-tree despite their apparent similarity are very different plants. Callaghan Innovation undertook a study which found that Mānuka oil was 3000 times more powerful than Tea-tree oil.

Antibiotics vs Mānuka oil

The World Health Organization has said that antibiotic resistant bacteria are going to be a serious problem in the coming decades. Mānuka oil is a good weapon in the fight to protect people from common infections. Although antibiotics have succeeded in preventing and curing many illnesses, bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics. We have relied on a narrow set of antibiotics to treat a wide range of diseases and illnesses, and bacteria have mutated to survive. There are only a couple of active compounds in antibiotics. When bacteria figure out how to beat these compounds, the efficacy of the antibiotic is compromised. Mānuka oil on the other hand has dozens of active ingredients which attack bacteria in different ways.

What Mānuka oil is good for? 

With its great antibacterial power, mānuka oil promises to kill bacteria that cause infections. Strep and staph are two of the most common bacteria that result in the following infections.

Psoriasis: its symptoms are pustules, plaques and scales. It has a worldwide presence.

Eczema: its symptoms include intense itch, and disruption of the skin barrier. It can lead to bleeding.

Acne: it is a bacterial infection common in young people as a result of oil overproduction in the skin.

School sores: its symptoms include uncomfortable lesions around the mouth and nose and it affects kids mostly in lower socio-economic conditions.

Patients with these bacterial infections report high rates of stress. These illnesses can even be psychosocially disabling, as a result of social stigmatization. They have a detrimental effect on quality of life. 

Mānuka oil is a powerful anti-bacterial and anti-fungal fighter, which may leap ahead of tea-tree oil and antibiotics alike in fixing skin conditions in the coming decades. Its properties come from the unique chemistry of the manuka plant.