LATEST NEWS & MEDIA
30 Oct 2009 - EMEA submission
The EMEA (European Medicines Agency) committee on herbal medicinal products called for scientific data to create a Monograph for tea tree oil as a Herbal Medicine in August 2009 More »»
19 Jun 2009 - New ATTIA website
Welcome to our new website. If you are a regular visitor you will notice quite a few changes - this will be progressive as the site is developed over the next few weeks. More »»
16 Apr 2007 - Safety dossier submitted
The industry response on the SCCP Opinion on the Safety of Tea Tree Oil which was published in November 2004 has now been filed with Brussels. The industry is yet to be advised who will be the rapporteur. Additional data is to be filed from an as yet incomplete ROAT study More »»
21 Feb 2007 - ATTIA refutes gynecomastia link
ATTIA calls for the Journal of New England Medicine to publish a retraction re the recent article: Prepubertal Gynecomastia Linked to Lavender and Tea Tree Oil. More »»
PrintISO4730 and AS 2782-1997 Standards
The chemical composition of tea tree oil is defined by international standard ISO 4730 (2004) and the identical Australian standard AS 2782-2009 ("Oil of Melaleuca, Terpinen-4-ol type"), which specifies levels of 15 of the more than 100 components in pure Australian tea tree oil. Any batch of oil sold by an ATTIA member must be accompanied by an independently tested certificate of analysis demonstrating conformance to these standards. A summary of the standard:
AS 2782 – 2009 Oil of Melaleuca, terpen-4-ol type (Tea Tree Oil)
Essential oil obtained by steam distillation of the foliage and terminal branchlets of Melaleuca alternifolia (Maiden et Betche) Cheel, Melaleuca linariifolia Smith, and Melaleuca dissitiflora F. Mueller, as well as other species of Melaleuca provided that the oil obtained conforms to the requirements given in this International Standard.
| Requirements: | ||
| Appearance | Clear, mobile liquid | |
| Colour | Colourless to pale yellow | |
| Odour | Characteristic | |
| Relative density (20° C) | Min: 0.885 | Max: 0.906 |
| Refractive index (20° C) | Min: 1.475 | Max: 1.482 |
| Optical rotation (20° C) | between + 5° and + 15° | |
| Miscibility in ethanol (20° C) | not necessary to use more than 2 volumes of ethanol, 85% (volume fraction) to obtain a clear solution with 1 volume of essential oil | |
| Flashpoint (closed cup) | mean value | mean value |
| Min volume of test sample | 50 ml | |
| Chromatographic profile: | ||||
| Component | Min % | Max % | ||
| α-Piniene | 1 | 6 | ||
| Sabinene | trace | 3.5 | ||
| α-Terpinene | 5 | 13 | ||
| Limonene | 0.5 | 1.5 | ||
| p-Cymene | 0.5 | 8 | ||
| 1,8-Cineole | trace | 15 | ||
| γ-Terpinene | 10 | 28 | ||
| Terpinolene | 1.5 | 5 | ||
| Terpinen-4-ol | 30 | 48 | ||
| α-Terpineol | 1.5 | 8 | ||
| Aromadendrene | trace | 3 | ||
| Ledene (syn. viridiflorene) | trace | 3 | ||
| δ-Cadinene | trace | 3 | ||
| Globulol | trace | 1 | ||
| Viridiflorol | trace | 1 | ||
A full copy of this standard is available for purchase at: www.saiglobal.com