Honey Myrtle Essential Oil
Our rarest yet one of our best essential oils, Honey Myrtle essential oil is lemony similiar to Lemon Myrtle essential oil, but it differs with an absolutely beautiful, warm honey note. For many people this oil is superior to Lemon Myrtle. It is great in an oil burner or in body products, it is uplifting, fresh and wonderful.
Botanical name Melaleuca teretifolia
Ingredients 100% v/v pure of Honey Myrtle essential oil.
Aroma
Pleasant, delicate, fresh, uplifting lemon, honey aroma, sunshine plus fresh air, pleasant for men and women.
Benefits
Clear and focus the mind, assist concentration, uplifting, relaxing, calming, relief for mental stress, relief for high pressure workers, students, switching off from pressure situations, anti-depressive, soothes hypertension, aids happiness, removes bad room smells, calms noisy children.
Uses
In an oil burner, vaporiser, air freshener, potpourri, massage oil, bath, soaps, creams and add to perfumes.
Aromatherapy Oil
2 to 4 drops in an oil burner or vaporiser, 1 drop into a bath, add to your own skin care products for a lovely lemon aroma.
Blend with
Try blending with Blue Cypress, Eucalyptus Australiana, Nerolina, Niaouli, Rosalina, Northern Sandalwood or Tea Tree.
Massage
5 drops per 100ml of carrier oil.
Main Actives
Contains upto 70% citral, containing: geranial, neral, cis citral, (Lemongrass 30-70% Citrals, Lemon Verbena 40%, Lemon Balm 70%). citral has been shown to be anti-microbial, particularly anti fungal, anti-viral, sedative.
Precautions
Do not use at a rate greater than 1% in body products, as skin sensitisation may occur. Keep out of reach of children, store away from direct sunlight, store below 30 degrees.
Other Common Names
Natural Occurrence in Australia
Honey Myrtle trees naturally occur in the south west of Western Australia. Honey Myrtle grows to a maximum height of 2-5 metres in the wild.Typically occurring in the sandy, Western Australian soils and typically like other Melaleucas, it can grow right in amongst wetlands.
Characteristics
Clear to yellow colour, watery, scent citrus, lemon, honey, fresh.
Research
University of Western Australia – Demonstrated and published that Honey Myrtle essential oil was anti-infectious, it was shown effective in concentrations of 0.25% against Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (E. coli).
USA and Thailand –Research is being done on different strains of MRSA, (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), results are yet to be published.
Swinburne University –In 2012, Swinburne University began basic research into Honey Myrtle essential oil for its medicinal properties.
Extraction and Farming Method
Honey Myrtle essential oil is extracted via steam distillation of the middle and upper stem, branchlets and leaves.
Honey Myrtle is grown in plantations in south western Western Australia. A husband and wife team on their south west Western Australia rural property, discovered a sweet lemon plant down by some wetlands, they had discovered a lovely variant of Honey Myrtle, richer in lemon oil compounds than other Honey Myrtles. They have gone on to propagate over 20,000 of these superior lemon scented Honey Myrtles on their property.
Plantation trees are planted in rows, are kept to a maximum height of 2 metres, they are machine harvested and are then steam distilled immediately to maintain quality.
History
Traditional Usage
At this point, there is no evidence of traditional usage, however it would be fair to assume some kind of use was made for anti-inflammatory purposes and troubled skin.
Early European Usage
Honey Myrtle, is too small to be used for timber. Eg woodwork or firewood, it was not exploited during the two World Wars for any essence needs, like Lemon Myrtle and Anise Myrtle.
Present Day Usage
At present Honey Myrtle oil is grown in the south west of Western Australia, the pioneers who discovered the oil have gone on to grow and distil the oil, it is from this farm, Essentially Australia secures its Honey Myrtle essential oil.
Typical Chemical Profile of Honey Myrtle Essential Oil
| alpha pinene | 0.6% |
| beta-pinene | 0.3% |
| myrcene | 10.0% |
| limonene | 0.5% |
| cineole | 1.4% |
| linalool | 0.4% |
| exo -isocitral | 0.6% |
| cis -isocitral | 1.6% |
| trans –iso citral | 2.6% |
| nerol | 2.1% |
| geraniol | 3.0% |
| neral | 30.4% |
| geranial | 40.7% |
| neryl acetate | 0.4% |
| geranyl acetate | 0.6% |
Optical rotation @ 20 C -0.2
Relative Density: @ 20 C 0.881
Refractive index @ 20 C 1.484
