Investigation of antileishmanial effects of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil

In the literature review on Melaleuca alternifolia oil, it was observed that there are limited number of studies on its antileishmanial effect especially against Leishmania tropica. The importance of this study increases due to the increasing number of Oriental Boils cases in Turkey and with the migration from Syria. Leishmaniasis has been reported as one of the neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organisation (WHO), with an estimated 700,000-1 million new cases reported in 2019. Treatment management is limited and the search for new and effective drugs continues due to the development of resistance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the antileishmanial effect of tea tree oil against Leishmania tropica, the causative agent of Oriental furuncle, which causes skin infection and is becoming increasingly common in our country. In this direction, for the first time in the Turkish literature, tea tree oil was applied to Leishmania tropica cultures at different concentrations and its antileishmanial effect was evaluated by ATP measurements. Antioxidant effects of phenolic compounds at low doses and pro-oxidant effects at high doses were observed. LD50 dose was found to be 1/8 effective. Significant inhibition was observed at this dose. Therefore, the hypothesis that the antiparasitic properties of tea tree oil can suppress oriental furuncle infection by providing an effective inhibition against Leishmania tropica was confirmed. In addition to the antiparasitic and antimycosal effects of tea tree oil, this study, which is important in terms of being the first study on Leishmania tropica, may offer a new and effective natural treatment alternative in the treatment of Oriental furuncle and may form the basis for further studies.