You've more than likely heard of MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a strain of bacteria known as a "superbug". It has also been referred to as "multi-drug resistant" and "oxacillin-resistant", and by definition it is any strain of Staphyulococcus aureus bacteria that has grown resistant to what are known as "beta-lactam" antibiotics (which include the penicillins). Having grown resistant to powerful synthetic antibiotics, infection with this microbe is now responsible for many thousands of deaths annually -- primarily in hospitals where patients are already immuno-compromised.
The search for a cure for this infection has lead a great many research teams to investigate the efficacy of essential oils. It has long been the contention of leading medical aromatherapy practitioners that the greatest gift of essential oils for mankind will be their ability to prevent and treat infectious illness -- and research is positively supporting this contention. Essential oils have the great feature of being able to be used both as vapors and as topical solutions -- useful because MRSA infections are commonly found in the respiratory tract as well as a the site of broken-skin wounds.
In a study performed by the Metropolitan University of Manchester, a vaporized essential oil blend containing lemongrass and geranium was tested against several strains of bacteria. The blend was found to reduce the spread of bacteria (including MRSA) on agar plates (with in a laboratory setting) as well as reduce the overall bacteria count in an office environment. The overall reduction of bacteria in the air was a staggering 89% with the diffuser running continually for 15 hours.
When reviewing the data, it appears in most studies, no single essential oil was truly effective -- rather a blend of oils did the trick. Tea tree was the oil most tested individually, with mixed results. In some cases it showed promising inhibition in the lab, but in more "real world" experiments, it didn't seem to measure up. Geranium and thyme essential oils were also often promising, but also did not provide complete results.
It's interesting that no single essential oil has been found in all the research to be superior to synthetic antibiotics, but blends of essential oils have been. From this information, a company in the UK has developed a new strain of the herb thyme for distillation into an essential oil. Thyme essential oil is commonly available in 4 chemotypes, meaning it naturally has 4 distinct chemical profiles depending on the kind of thyme herb the oil has been distilled from. This new strain produces an essential oil with a chemical profile that mimics an essential oil blend, containing natural chemicals found in both thyme and tea tree essential oils. It preliminary studies, this essential oil alone has been found to be effective against MRSA -- while it is not yet available in the US, keep watch for this new type of thyme essential oil.
In actual human subjects, an essential oil blend called PolytoxinolTM eradicated MRSA infections from traumatic injury sites. This blend is formulated with eucalyptus, tea tree, thyme, clove and lemongrass essential oils diluted in ethanol. The blend completely eradicated MRSA infections where no supplemental antibiotics were used. This same formula treated chronic MRSA osteomyelitis (bone infection) that was unresponsive to antibiotics for two years.
The possibility of using essential oils for treatment of serious infectious illness is real. The data supports the use of oils for both prevention (by diffusion in your living and working spaces) and treatment of MRSA infections -- and it follows that the vast majority of common bacterial illnesses can be successfully prevented and treated with essential oils as well. The versatility, safety, and availability of essential oils should make them the choice for such treatment in the future, as their acceptance becomes more widespread.
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