Melaleuca’s Sol-U-Guard Botanical™ with Thyme Oil

From Botanical.com, Garden Thyme. Thyme has been used for centuries for its antiseptic, disinfectant, fumigation, and medicinal properties. All the great Herbalists used and wrote about the many properties of thyme. In medieval times it was used extensively around the home to ward off germs and more recently it was used to help to disinfect hospitals during the First World War.

Thyme Heals. The essential oil of thyme contains thymol, a natural crystalline phenol with powerful and proven antibiotic and disinfectant properties that kills common household germs that can cause serious illnesses to both ourselves and to our pets. It has been found that thymol is at least 18 times as effective as phenol (used in commercial germicides), but has much lower toxicity. In vitro studies have shown that thyme oil has valuable broad spectrum activity against Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and a number of other bacterial species. It also exhibits antifungal activity against Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus, Saprolegnia, and Zygorhynchus species of fungi.

Food poisoning is usually a result of infected food or food that may not have been stored correctly, but did you know that it can become infected by being in contact with contaminated surfaces in the kitchen? Thyme is a broad spectrum disinfectant that helps to kill germs (including E.coli) on surfaces all around your home.
Marino M, Bersani C, Comi, G. Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oils of Thymus vulgaris L. Measured Using a Bioimpedometric Method. Journal of Food Protection, Volume 62, Number 9, September 1999, pp. 1017-1023(7). 

In this study, published in Bionews online, it was found that Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium were susceptible to thymol and carvacrol (both found in thyme oil and eugenol (found in clove oil).
Activity of natural antimicrobial compounds against Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Letters in Applied Microbiology (N.A. Olasupo, D.J. Fitzgerald, M.J. Gasson and A. Narbad) Volume 37 Issue 6 Page 448  - December 2003

In this study which used ordinary sugar only as a vehicle for oil dispersion, clove oil was found to be effective against: Candida albicans, a yeast that can be present on hands and bathroom surfaces. Staphylococcus aureus (five strains), Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Clostridium perfringens, and Escherichia coli, all bacteria that can be transferred to surfaces around the home. Clove oil (eugenol) supports thyme oil in its fight against common household germs.
Antimicrobial activity of clove oil dispersed in a concentrated sugar solution. (Briozzo J, Nunez L, Chirife J, Herszage L, D'Aquino M.) Journal Appl Bacteriol. 1989 Jan;66(1):69-75.

A similar study carried out by the same researchers found that clove was as effective as a hospital disinfectant for killing Candida albicans.
(42k) Antifungal properties of clove oil (Eugenia caryophylata) in sugar solution. (Núñez L, D’Aquino M, Chirife J.) Brazilian Journal of Microbiology (2001) 32:123-126.

Like thyme and clove, lemongrass has a safe history of use. In 1996, researchers found that it was effective against 22 strains of bacteria and 12 types of fungi.

Antimicrobial activity of essential oils and other plant extracts K. A. Hammer, C. F. Carson and T. V. Riley Journal of Applied Microbiology Volume 86 Issue 6 Page 985 - June 1999 doi:10.1046/j.1365-2672.1999.00780.x

Although this study was on the fungicidal action of Lemongrass on stored rice, it demonstrates that lemongrass can be used on food preparation areas to get rid of fungal spores.
Fungicidal and anti-aflatoxigenic effects of the essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf. (lemongrass) against Aspergillus flavus Link. isolated from stored rice. (Paranagama PA, Abeysekera KH, Abeywickrama K, Nugaliyadde L.) Lett Appl Microbiol. 2003;37(1):86-90.

The germs listed below are just some of the strains that can inhabit your home. These are very easily transferred to food preparation areas by insects, pets, infected dishcloths, shopping bags, food spillage (raw meat, eggs, garden produce), and even our own hands. When conditions are right the germs proliferate and can cause serious health problems.

Clostridium botulinum: also known as botulism bacteria, causes weakness, blurred vision, creeping  paralysis, respiratory failure and death, but cases are relatively rare. Spores are found in the soil and can lie dormant on surfaces until they have the right conditions to multiply. In this study of 12 strains of bacteria, including Clostridium botulinum, thyme oil was one of the oils that showed strong activity against all the test species.
Antibacterial efficiency of Finnish spice essential oils against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. (Nevas M, Korhonen AR, Lindstrom M, Turkki P, Korkeala H.) J Food Prot. 2004 Jan;67(1):199-202.

Escherichia coli (E. coli): An estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year. E. coli causes hemorrhagic colitis (bleeding from inflamed large intestine) and sometimes kidney failure. Contamination can arise from raw meat, unwashed hands, and pet secretions, these can be easily transferred to surfaces around the home. In this study, thyme oil and its constituents (thymol and carvacrol) all had bactericidal properties against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli.
Studies on antimicrobial activity of extracts from thyme. (Fan M, Chen J.) Wei Sheng Wu Xue Bao. 2001 Aug;41(4):499-504.

Listeria: causes fever, flu-like symptoms, miscarriage, convulsions. Can be caught from infected food, soil or from pet’s secretions. If any of these substances touch work surfaces, the infection can easily be transferred to uncooked food.
This study shows that, out of the five oils tested, Thyme oil (Thymus vulgaris) has the best activity against 2 strains of listeria and Staphylococcus aureus.
Five essential oils from aromatic plants of Cameroon: their antibacterial activity and ability to permeabilize the cytoplasmic membrane of Listeria innocua examined by flow cytometry. (Nguefack J, Budde BB, Jakobsen M.) Lett Appl Microbiol. 2004;39(5):395-400.

Salmonella spp: causes diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps, although rarely fatal, the young and elderly are particularly at risk of serious complications. The main area of contamination is through fecal matter from humans and animals, so can be transferred to surfaces from unwashed hands, pets, and some unwashed vegetables. Another reason to thoroughly clean around wash basins and sinks in bathrooms and kitchens. In this study, Thymol was seen to drastically reduce salmonella and E. Coli pathogens in swine slurry. This study is significant, because slurry provides a natural habitat for these pathogens to thrive and can easily contaminate meat, farm produce, and vegetables (when the contaminated slurry is used as an agricultural fertilizer). It demonstrates that thymol proves lethal to salmonella pathogens even when in their optimal environment.
Viability Of Salmonella Enterica Typhimurium And Escherichia Coli O157:h7 In Finishing Swine Manure Slurries With And Without A Urease Inhibitor And A Plant Essential Oil [abstract]. (Wells, J., Varel, V.H.) Journal Of Animal Science. 83(supplement 1):301-302. 2005.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa: causes a rash, ear and eye infections and can be caught from unclean baths, sinks and hot tubs. The worst thing about this bacterium is that surfaces can look clean but still be contaminated. Of the extracts tested clove Syzygium aromaticum (eugenol) was one of the best extracts against this infection, which is becoming increasingly difficult to control. Antibacterial Activity of Plant Extracts and Phytochemicals on Antibiotic-Restistant Bacteria.

And when we go into public areas, our hands can become contaminated with deadly strains of bacteria that we can transfer to items in our homes, such as doorknobs, telephones, faucets, toys, in fact anything that we touch.

It is reassuring to know that you can now rid your home of the germs that cause infection and disease with the power of herbs, without putting yourself or your family and pets at risk from harmful chemicals. It is a sad fact that in the industrialized world there are growing incidences of cancers, respiratory diseases, multiple chemical sensitivities, skin conditions and allergies, which are directly related to chemical poisoning from household cleaners and pesticides.

Our research report Everyday Household Toxics provides an in-depth analysis of the dangers that chemicals in household cleaners pose to all of us.

According to information from the National Pesticide Information Centre (NPIC), disinfectants are capable of severe poisoning and even death.

Not many people know that ordinary disinfectants may be poisoning their pets. This article focuses on a proprietary brand all-around disinfectant.

(139k). And this is a 6-page report about children under 18 who have been affected by exposure to disinfectants in the workplace. It outlines the physical symptoms observed after accidents with disinfectants, and it discusses why youth have a higher incidence of disinfectant-related illness than older persons.

An interesting and valuable 'side-effect' of using thyme, clove and lemongrass in the home is that they all have insect repellent properties. So by using Sol-U-Guard Botanical™ on surfaces, it also helps to repel those bugs that can spread disease.

I would love to know what you think about this report. You may contact us with any suggestions or comments about this report.

August 2005