New Zealand Manuka plant extracts’ therapeutic properties were first identified by the early Maori settlers about 1000 years ago and have been used for human skin ailments ever since.

One of the first European visitors to New Zealand, Captain James Cook recorded the use of Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) leaves as a substitute for tea to sustain his crew on long voyages, and to protect them from ailments such as scurvy.

The Maori people boiled the leaves and bark for a wide range of ailments, including urinary problems, reducing fever, as a diuretic, a sedative, a painkiller, for inflammation of the breasts, and for healing fractures.

The liquid was also used for burns, bathing sore eyes, and taken internally for diarrhea and dysentery.

Seed capsules were powdered and used to heal wounds.

“Medicine of the Maori written by Christina McDonald. Published by William Collins (NZ) Ltd, Auckland, 1974. Reprinted.1975

All these medicinal uses of the Manuka plant extracts were identified by the Maori people centuries ago, but only now, in the past two or three decades, has modern scientific analysis confirmed that these uses were legitimate and that the active compounds identified as having powerful antimicrobial properties.

Scientific study confirms antimicrobial properties

Since the 1980’s there has been considerable scientific study to identify the active compounds in the Manuka plant and test these compounds for their effectiveness against a number of bacterial and fungal organisms that can cause skin and other ailments.

Scientific papers confirm that one chemotype of Manuka tree, which grows wild almost exclusively in the East Cape region of New Zealand’s North Island, has powerful antibacterial and antifungal properties and that this oil is a genuine alternative to conventional synthetic forms of medication.

Not only do products containing Manuka oil with high levels of triketone compounds provide an alternative to traditional forms of treatment, it has been shown in many cases to have given superior results.

The therapeutic properties of Manuka honey are also well established in scientific studies undertaken at New Zealand’s Waikato University.

Manuka essential oil for healing

Today, there is a renewed interest in natural botanical solutions for a wide range of human and animal ailments, particularly skin conditions, as the complex botanical compounds are becoming better understood, along with the realization that in many cases they can offer a more balanced solution than their synthesized derivatives.

New Zealand's geographic isolation for possibly two hundred million years has yielded a large number of endemic plants, a number of which posses antimicrobial properties, and although identified and appreciated by the early settlers, they have only recently been fully understood through scientific study.

One such plant is the outstanding Manuka plant.

New Zealand Tea Tree or Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) is a shrubby bush that can grow to a height of twenty-five feet in sheltered areas, or in open spaces as a more bushy form.

The valuable essential oil production of Australian Tea Tree was already known as was its distant relationship with the New Zealand Tea Tree or Manuka plant.

But it was not until the 1980's that scientists began looking more closely at New Zealand Manuka, and trial extractions of its oil were made.

Scientists discovered that Manuka oils' effectiveness against a range of micro-organisms was very powerful, it was up to 30 times more effective against gram positive bacteria than Australian Tea Tree oil.

It was also found to be highly effective against a range of fungi which commonly infect the human and dog and cat skin.

This discovery meant that Manuka oil could now be added to skin care formulations at a much lower rate than Australian Tea Tree oil and still be more effective against a range of micro-organisms.

Furthermore, Manuka oil does not contain some of the volatile compounds which are thought to be responsible for skin sensitivity in some people (and pets) when exposed to strong concentrations of Australian Tea Tree oil.