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Manuka Essential Oil

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Manuka oil is an essential oil distilled mainly from the leaves and young stems of mānuka, Leptospermum scoparium, a shrub or small tree of the myrtle family that grows in New Zealand and Australia.[1] Also called New Zealand tea tree oil, it smells woody, earthy and balsamic, without the medicinal note of Australian tea tree oil.[2] Its composition depends strongly on where the plants grow: oil from the East Cape of New Zealand is rich in compounds that act strongly against bacteria in laboratory studies, but clinical trials are lacking.[1]
Type
Essential oil
Botanical name
Leptospermum scoparium
Other names
New Zealand tea tree oil

The plant

Mānuka, also called kahikātoa, is a common prickly shrub or small tree up to 5 m tall. It has flaky bark, hard pointed leaves 5 to 20 mm long and white or pinkish, red-centred flowers. It is native to New Zealand and Australia and grows abundantly from the coast to low alpine habitats.[3] Of the 79 Leptospermum species, mānuka is the only one native to New Zealand.[4]

In New Zealand, mānuka can be confused only with kānuka (Kunzea). Mānuka is easy to tell apart by its hard, round, nut-like fruits, its sharp-tipped leaves and its flowers, which appear to be single.[3] Like the Australian tea tree, mānuka owes the name "tea tree" to Captain Cook, who used its dried leaves while exploring New Zealand in the 18th century.[4]

In traditional Māori medicine, mānuka bark was used for skin diseases, as a sedative and as a mouthwash. The leaves were boiled in water for colds or crushed and applied to ease itching and scabs.[1]

How the oil is made

The oil is a clear liquid produced by steam distillation, generally from the leaves and young stems. The yield is 0.2 to 1%, depending on season and region.[1] Distillation may take up to five hours to obtain the most triketones.[4]

Composition

About 100 components have been identified in manuka oil.[1] Most manuka oils are rich in sesquiterpenes (50 to 70%), followed by about 20% ketones.[2] The main components of commercial oils are reported as:
  • leptospermone (0.8–19.4%), calamenene (2.5–18.5%) and delta-cadinene (0.9–6.9%);[1]
  • cadina-3,5-diene (3.0–10.0%), alpha-copaene (4.3–6.5%), flavesone (0.7–5.8%) and alpha-selinene (1.3–5.0%).[1]

Leptospermone and flavesone are triketones, the components most linked to the oil's antibacterial action. Their share varies by region. Triketone-rich oils come from the East Cape of the North Island, oils rich in linalool and eudesmol from Nelson, and pinene-rich oils from Canterbury.[1] In North Island oils, especially from the East Coast, triketones can exceed 30%.[4] Mānuka grown in Australia gives an oil with more monoterpenes and almost no triketones.[1]

The age of the plant also affects the oil.[1] Because of this variation, a buyer should at least know which island of New Zealand an oil comes from, but price lists rarely state the region.[4] Its composition gives manuka oil a much longer shelf life than Australian tea tree oil.[2]

Manuka, kanuka and tea tree

The name "tea tree" is used loosely for several plants, including the tea plant Camellia sinensis, mānuka, kānuka and Melaleuca alternifolia.[1] Three oils sold under such names are easily confused:
  • Manuka oil comes from mānuka, Leptospermum scoparium, of New Zealand and Australia. It contains few monoterpenes.[1]
  • Kanuka oil comes from kānuka, Kunzea ericoides, native to New Zealand.[4] Most of it is alpha-pinene.[1]
  • Tea tree oil comes from Melaleuca alternifolia of southeastern Australia.[5] It is dominated by terpinen-4-ol and 1,8-cineole, which manuka oil almost lacks.[1]

Scent and uses

Manuka oil smells woody, earthy and balsamic, fresh and pleasant. It is a middle note with some base-note character, and it blends well with wood, citrus, herbaceous, spice, mint and medicinal oils.[2] Lavender, lemon or lemon myrtle can soften its scent.[4]

Research

Most research on manuka oil has been done in the laboratory. There it acts against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and fractions containing triketones seem particularly active. Clinical trials are lacking, so there is little data to guide dosing.[1]

Safety

  • No special precautions are listed for manuka oil.[2]
  • Like other essential oils, manuka oil has been classified as safe and tolerable for human use. Without clinical trials, however, data on its toxicity are limited.[1]
  • In animal tests it caused only slight skin and eye irritation.[1]
  • In laboratory tests, manuka oil weakened contractions of uterine muscle. Researchers therefore advise against using it as a relaxant during childbirth.[1]
  • In pregnancy, with epilepsy or other medical conditions, use it only under the guidance of a qualified aromatherapist. Take extra care when using it with children.[2]

Products containing it

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 C. Mathew et al., Mānuka Oil—A Review of Antimicrobial and Other Medicinal Properties. Pharmaceuticals 2020, 13(11), 343.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 AromaWeb, Manuka Essential Oil. Retrieved 8 November 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 New Zealand Plant Conservation Network, Leptospermum scoparium var. scoparium, fact sheet. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 W. Maddocks-Jennings, J. M. Wilkinson, D. Shillington and H. Cavanagh, A fresh look at manuka and kanuka essential oils from New Zealand. The International Journal of Aromatherapy 15 (2005), 141–146.
  5. ↑ Steffen Arctander, Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, Elizabeth, NJ, 1960: Melaleuca Alternifolia.
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