Updated 29 January 2024
Botanical characteristics
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Myrtales
- Family: Myrtaceae
- Genus: Melaleuca
- Part used: Leaves
- Country of origin: Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, Madagascar
Precautions for use
Caution! Cajuput essential oil is only approved for use by air diffusion on children, infants and pregnant women over the age of three months.
It has cortisone-like molecules and is irritating to the skin, so it is used diluted to 20% when applied to the skin.
Ingestion of this essential oil is reserved to the prescription of a therapist.
Precautions should be taken for people with asthma and epilepsy.
Other precautions
Warning:
- Cajuput essential oil can only be taken orally by prescription.
- Prolonged use of this essential oil is reserved for medical advice.
- People with epilepsy should consult a doctor before using this essential oil: there is a risk of seizures at high doses.
- Cajuput essential oil should not be used by people with a predisposition to asthma, and its use in aerosol form should be avoided.
Cutaneous use:
- Cajuput essential oil should be diluted to 20% for use on the skin (20% essential oil to 80% vegetable oil).
Diffusion:
- This essential oil can be diffused pure, but it is preferable to dilute it in another essential oil from 20 to 80%.
- Pregnant women, children and babies can use it neat or diluted in air diffusion.
Allergenic components:
Cajuput essential oil contains some allergenic biochemical components:
- Limonene (≤ 13%)
- Linalool (≤ 5%)
- Geraniol (≤ 1%)
Note: It is best to test the essential oil before use (two drops on the crease of the elbow for at least 24 hours to check for a reaction).
Authorised users
How to use
Risks of use
Properties
- Anti-catarrhal, expectorant
- Antibacterial, antiviral
- Radioprotective
- Phlebotonic
Indications
- Respiratory infections
- Bronchitis
- Sinusitis
- Haemorrhoids
- Varicose veins
- Varicose ulcers
- Herpes
- Shingles
- Prevention of radiation burns
- Gynaecological infection
- Cavities
- Toothache
- Flu
Directions for use/usual dosage
- For herpes lesions or shingles, apply 2 drops undiluted every hour for one day.
- Along with niaouli, 2 drops of cajeput EO can be used undiluted to prevent radiation burns.
- A few drops in a bowl of hot water helps to clear blocked sinuses.
- As a topical unction, diluted 50% in a vegetable oil, to massage the chest and upper back for catarrh.
- Atmospheric diffusion in the event of an infectious epidemic.