HepCInfo.ca | PositiveSide.ca | LivePositive.ca | TreatHIVGlobally.ca | Resources for Nurses

CATIE-News: Bite-sized HIV/AIDS news bulletins

Lemon myrtle oil tested against mollusca

cet article est disponible en fran�ais

In the CATIE Newsstory “Cidofovir and liquid nitrogen help beat mollusca", we reported results from a combination of the drug cidofovir (Vistide) and liquid nitrogen for the treatment of mollusca lesions in people with HIV/AIDS (PHAs). In related research, scientists are developing an interest in studying the essential oils from the following plants because of their ability to impair the growth of microbes:

lemon
lemon verbena
lemongrass
lemon myrtle

Laboratory studies have found that lemon myrtle oil impairs the growth of bacteria and fungi and may be stronger than tea-tree oil in this regard. Australian researchers are planning to conduct test-tube experiments to assess lemon myrtle oil’s antiviral activity.

Study details and results
Despite the lack of published work on lemon myrtle’s antiviral properties, researchers in Idaho have reported that essential oil of the herb lemon myrtle has been tested in a placebo-controlled study of molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) infection in HIV negative children. Using a 10% solution of lemon myrtle oil, researchers found that it reduced the number of MCV skin lesions by 90% in nine of 16 children who used it. Among the 15 children who received placebo, there was no significant reduction in MCV lesions. In 12 of these placebo recipients, mollusca lesions either stayed the same or became worse. The remaining three children were withdrawn from the study by their parents because their mollusca became worse.

The results from this study are promising and need to be confirmed in another clinical trial. Also, the safety and effectiveness of lemon myrtle oil in PHAs with mollusca or other skin conditions will not be known until further studies are done.

—Sean R. Hosein

REFERENCES
1. Wilkinson JM, Hipwell M, Ryan T and Cavanagh HM. Bioactivity of Backhousia citriodora: antibacterial and antifungal activity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2003;51(1):76-81.

2. Burke BE, Baillie JE, Olson RD. Essential oil of Australian lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) in the treatment of molluscum contagiosum in children. Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy 2004;58(4):245-247.

Created on: 06/28/2004

TreatmentUpdate

What's New?

CATIE Publications

Decisions about particular medical treatments should always be made in consultation with a qualified medical practitioner who is knowledgeable about HIV-related illness and the treatments in question. MORE

Privacy | Permission to reproduce | Funders

Production of this Web site has been made possible through a financial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada.