P-Cymene and Organic Peroxides As Indicators of Oxidation in Tea Tree Oil
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p-Cymene and organic peroxides as indicators of oxidation in tea tree oil. A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation by Ian Southwell September 2006 RIRDC Publication No 06/112 RIRDC Project No ISO-2A i © 2006 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved. ISBN 1 74151 375 8 ISSN 1440-6845 p-Cymene and organic peroxides, indicators of oxidation in tea tree oil. Publication No. 06/112 Project No ISO 2A The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable industries. The information should not be relied upon for the purpose of a particular matter. Specialist and/or appropriate legal advice should be obtained before any action or decision is taken on the basis of any material in this document. The Commonwealth of Australia, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the authors or contributors do not assume liability of any kind whatsoever resulting from any person's use or reliance upon the content of this document. This publication is copyright. However, RIRDC encourages wide dissemination of its research, providing the Corporation is clearly acknowledged. For any other enquiries concerning reproduction, contact the Publications Manager on phone 02 6272 3186. Researcher Contact Details Dr Ian Southwell Phytoquest 22 Canterbury Chase Goonellabah, NSW, 2480 Australia Phone: 0266 242 453 Fax: 0266 283 264 Email: [email protected] In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing this material in its edited form. RIRDC Contact Details Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 2, Pharmacy Guild House 15 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6272 4819 Fax: 02 6272 5877 Email: [email protected]. Web : http://www.rirdc.gov.au Published in September 2006 Printed on environmentally friendly paper by Canprint ii Foreword The European Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) recently concluded that insufficient data are available on the safety and stability of tea tree oil. The industry is addressing this situation with RIRDC by commissioning approved tests to obtain a more complete safety dossier on tea tree oil. The oil tested must be well defined chemically for the dossier to be valid. This investigation outlines how, from eleven commercial samples screened, three oils (one fresh, one oxidised and one, blended from commercial oils, mildly oxidised) were chosen by p-cymene content and peroxide index determination. These samples were then thoroughly defined by Gas Chromatography (GC), Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) and physical constants to determine status with respect to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) standard for tea tree oil before being recommended for dermal penetration and other safety parameter investigations for the dossier. As a result of this investigation, it is suggested that oxidised tea tree oils are always seen to be associated with high p-cymene contents and sometimes high peroxide values. With the difficulty in measuring and identifying the degradation products due to their instability and poor documentation, p-cymene concentration seems a better determinant for oxidation than any other method. Sufficient well accepted Standards exist for this to be an easy analysis. Such testing will be of economic benefit as a more acceptable oil will lead to more sales and be of social benefit as the safety and stability of the oil are better defined. This project was funded from RIRDC core funds which are provided by the Australian Government and from matching voluntary contributions from the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association (ATTIA). This report is an addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 1500 research publications. It forms part of our Tea Tree Oil R&D sub-program which aims to develop safety packages to support registration and product formulation. Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website: • downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/fullreports/index.html • purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop Peter O’Brien Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation iii Acknowledgements As this investigation uses the previous RIRDC Publication No. 06/026 of Project No. Dan 241A (Southwell et al., 2006) as a basis for revision, the contributions of co-authors Robert Lowe (NSW Dept of Primary Industries, Wollongbar Agricultural Institute, 1243 Bruxner Highway, Wollongbar, NSW, 2477) and David Leach and Aaron Pollack (Centre for Phytochemistry & Pharmacology, Southern Cross University, Military Road, Lismore, NSW 2480) are gratefully acknowledged. Abbreviations ATTIA Australian Tea Tree Industries Association BP British Pharmacopoeia CPP Centre for Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of SCU FID Flame Ionization Detector GC Gas Chromatography GCFID Gas Chromatography – Flame Ionization Detection GCMS Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry ISO International Standards Organisation NSW DPI New South Wales Department of Primary Industries Ph Eur European Pharmacopoeia PV Peroxide Value ( = Peroxide Index) SCCP Scientific Committee on Consumer Products SCU Southern Cross University TAS Technical and Safety committee of ATTIA WAI Wollongbar Agricultural Institute of NSW DPI iv Contents Foreword............................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................iv Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................iv Executive Summary ..............................................................................................................................vi 1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................1 2. Objectives........................................................................................................................................2 3. Methodology ...................................................................................................................................3 4. Results .............................................................................................................................................4 5. Discussion........................................................................................................................................5 6. Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations....................................................................13 7. References.....................................................................................................................................14 Annex 1 .................................................................................................................................................15 Annex 2 .................................................................................................................................................16 Annex 3 .................................................................................................................................................17 Annex 4 .................................................................................................................................................18 Annex 5 .................................................................................................................................................30 v Executive Summary Background Headlines in Europe recently stated: “tea tree oil – unsafe and unstable”. This undesirable media coverage overseas came as a challenge to the Australian tea tree oil industry at a time when attempts to combat low prices by better market promotion of the oil were gaining momentum. The headlines followed the release of a European SCCP (Scientific Committee on Consumer Products) opinion that concluded that insufficient data were available on the safety and stability of the oil. Consumers and the media need to know the facts about the safety and stability of tea tree oil that, along with proven efficacy, have made the oil such a popular health care product over the last 70 years. The industry and RIRDC are addressing this situation by commissioning approved tests in order to obtain a more complete safety dossier on tea tree oil. Aims For this to be achieved, the oils tested must be well defined chemically for the dossier to be valid. Methods This investigation outlines how, from eleven commercial samples screened, three oils (one fresh, one oxidised and one, blended from commercial oils, mildly oxidised) were chosen by p-cymene content and peroxide index determination. These samples were then thoroughly defined by GC, GCMS and physical constants to determine status with respect to the ISO standard for tea tree oil before being recommended for dermal penetration and other safety parameter investigations for the dossier. The methods used were internationally accepted procedures for determining p-cymene content and peroxide value (British or European Pharmacopoeia methods), GC profiles and physical constants (ISO Standard) and GCMS (generally accepted literature procedures). From 11 tea tree oils screened,