Melaleuca Bracteata Oil

#### Melaleuca Bracteata. Belonging to the group of so-called "tea-trees", the Australian tree, **Melaleuca Bracteata **has leaves and twigs which are distilled in Australia, and recently also in East Africa (Kenya). By steam distillation a yellowish to pale amber or pale olive-green oil is obtained. The odor is very delicate, sweet-woody, herbaceous, recalling the odor of dry tea-leaves. The "tea" note has nothing to do with the "tea-tree" name of these plants, but this fragrance is quite characteristic of this particular oil. The main constituent of the oil is **Mathyl**** ****Eugenol**. However, the synthetic or isolated methyl eugenol does not present the same peculiar odor of tea leaves as the one we find in melaleuca bracteata oil. It seems quite possible that small amounts of cinnamates in combination with methyl eugenol are responsible for the delicate and very pleasant odor of melaleuca bracteata oil. When this oil is available at all, it finds use in perfumery for the note described above, and the oil blends excellently with amylsalicylate, hydroxycitronellal, dimethyl phenylethyl carbinol, linalool, beta-gamma-hexenol (traces for "tea" notes), phenylethylalcohol, ionones and methylionones, mimosa absolute, sage clary oil or absolute, pine needle oil, juniperberry oil, ylang-ylang (best in minute traces), etc. Melaleuca bracteata oil will round off the sharp notes of synthetic ingredients, and produce an improved fixation and naturalness in the perfume. Like many other Australian trees, the melaleuca trees exist in several "physiological" forms which yield different essential oils. This fact affects the production of the individual melaleuca oils. Consequently, the oil of **Melaleuca Bracteata **is produced on a limited scale only, the total annual production being about two to five metric tons. With an increased interest and stronger demand, the production in Australia and East Africa could easily be intensified. This oil certainly deserves more attention in perfumery.