| Eucalyptus Eucalyptus globulus The Oil Is Used to Treat Coughs and Colds The eucalyptus tree, which is native to south-eastern Australia and Tasrnania, now grows in southern California and in many other regions as well. The eucalyptus tree, , belongs to the myrtle family (Myrtaceae). Because it grows rapidly, it is used in Africa to drain malarial swamps. The common name given it there - fever tree - indicates that through its help in draining the swamps, the breeding grounds of the malarial (anopheles) mosquito are being eliminated and hence the fever - that is, malaria - is becoming less common. The eucalyptus grows up to almost 230 feet (70 m) tall. It has grey-white bark. On young trees or new branches of older trees grow opposite, thin, ovate leaves, whereas the mature types of leaves are alternate, twice as thick, leathery, and much longer, with petioles. The principal vein is quite prominent on the blue-green under-side of the leaf, and it branches at a right angle. The secondary veins join to form an unforked marginal vein (craspedromus) that runs parallel to the leaf margin. The white eucalyptus flowers develop into coarse fruits. The parts used for medicinal purposes are the leaves, which now are used only rarely as an ingredient of teas for colds. They are, however, used to produce the sought-after eucalyptus oil by means of steam distillation. Good leaves for commercial use should contain about 3 percent essential oil. Eucalyptus oil contains about 80 percent cineol (= eucalyptol). This oil is responsible for the pleasant effect in treatment of colds, as it is antiseptic, mucolytic, and refrigerant. The number of ready-made preparations that contain eucalyptus oil is enormous. Every kind of product is represented, from pure oil through oil-containing ointments and rubs to candies and syrups. The effect is convincing, and side effects from the tea or from any of the commercial preparations are extremely rare. Please note With an overdose (this applies to all essential oils), nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea have been observed. Very few people have developed an allergy to eucalyptus oil. |
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