Tea tree oil is mainly derived from the native Australian plant Malaleuca alternifolia, also known as the tea tree. In recent years, numerous studies have demonstrated numerous benefits of tea tree essential oil.

In fact, it is used effectively in many fields, finding applications in pharmaceutical products, supplements and cosmetics. IPS has decided to take advantage of this plant for the production of tea tree oil microcapsules, ideal for the production of food and nutraceutical supplements.

But what does tea tree oil do specifically? According to data from scientific research published in Clinical Microbiology Reviews, the main properties of tea tree essential oil are antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. For this reason, tea tree oil is an excellent adjuvant in the treatment for a number of infections, and provides relief in cases of congestion or irritation within the respiratory tract.

But the beneficial properties of this Australian plant do not end there. In fact, in addition to strengthening the immune system, tea tree oil helps soothe burns and relieve flu symptoms. Further studies have also confirmed the effectiveness of tea tree essential oil in cases of relapsed herpes.

The many advantages of tea tree oil are mainly thanks to the presence of terpinen-4-ol and 1,8 cineol. Microencapsulation by coacervation used by IPS allows for the production of tea tree oil microcapsules with very high concentrations of these active ingredients, achieving up to 85% of oil content for each microcapsule that is between 100 and 600 µm in size.

The microencapsulation of tea tree oil also enables some of the problems typically encountered in classic supplements to be overcome. Moreover, the polymeric coating of the microcapsules developed by IPS mask the taste of tea tree oil which has been found to be unpleasant when taken frequently. In addition, the membrane acts as a gastro-resistant barrier and allows the active ingredient to be conveyed directly into the gastro-intestinal tract, where it can be absorbed effectively and in a controlled manner.