The Benefits of Eucalyptus – Facts you need to Know

The health benefits of eucalyptus is credited to its antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiseptic, decongestant, stimulating, deodorant, and other medicinal properties.  The essential oils of the Eucalyptus tree are taken from its fresh leaves.  Although this tree has been cultivated in other countries, Australia is still the world’s primary source of eucalyptus oil.

Belonging to the hardwood species, Eucalyptus is a type of flowering tree that thrives in Australia and has about 700 varieties.  A few of its kind can be seen in the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Taiwan.  Other kinds of Eucalyptus trees are grown in the tropical and subtropical regions of the earth that include China, the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, the Americas, the Mediterranean Basin, Africa and Europe.  Eucalyptus Globulus is its botanical name and is also known as blue gum tree, stringy bark tree or fever tree.

The Eucalyptus leaves aside from being used for home wall decorations give off a striking and clean aroma where essential oils can be obtained.  The volatile oil eucalyptol is the main active ingredient derived from eucalyptus leaves.  The oil is lucid, has a sharp taste and scent and offers a lot of benefits.  When applied on the skin, it presents an unsullied and calming sensation.  Its oil is usually used in the treatment of irritations, swellings, insect bites and other wounds.  Even though its essential oil contains all the volatile oil properties, it was never considered an aromatherapy oil in the past.  This rapid-growing source of wood caught the interest of environmentalists and researchers to explore its use in aromatherapy and traditional medicine.  The oil aside from being known to treat skin problems can also be used as a natural pesticide and at times is utilized for draining swamps to lessen the threat of malaria

Because of the medicinal uses of eucalyptus oil and the presence of a compound in the plant, it has been incorporated in a lot of over-the-counter drugs such as inhalers, rubs, rash