From Ron Guba
I am somewhat amused at the search for the “phytochemical agent” in manuka
honey—which I suggest is due to the content of aromatic compounds
(7 October, p 32).
The strong antibiotic power of various essential oils and
isolated aromatic compounds has been well demonstrated. Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), for example, is quite sensitive to many
aromatic compounds. And work done over the past thirty years by French
physicians in prescribing essential oils for the treatment of infections has
also demonstrated that resistance does not develop to these compounds. Minimal
inhibitory concentrations of aromatic compounds against S. aureus are
quite small—0.125 milligrams per millilitre for thymol and carvacrol
(found in the essential oils of red thyme and oregano), 0.25 mg/ml for geraniol
(found in palmarosa) and 0.1 mg/ml for Australian sandalwood, Santalum
spicatum. In the concentrations required to treat wound infections, these
essential oils are non-toxic and non-irritant.
Collingwood, Victoria
