The safety of topical application of Australian tea tree Oil (TTO) is confounded by a lack of transdermal penetration data, which adequately informs opinions and recommendations. In this study we applied TTO in its pure form and as a 20% solution in ethanol in vitro to human epidermal membranes from three different donors, mounted in horizontal Franz-type diffusion cells, using normal 'in use' dosing conditions (10 mg/cm2). In addition, we examined the effect of partially occluding the application site on the penetration of TTO components. Our data showed that only a small quantity of TTO components, 1.1-1.9% and 2-4% of the applied amount following application of a 20% TTO solution and pure TTO, respectively, penetrated into or through human epidermis. The largest TTO component penetrating the skin was terpinen-4-ol. Following partial occlusion of the application site, the penetration of terpinen-4-ol increased to approximately 7% of the applied TTO. Measurement of the rate of evaporation of tea tree oil from filter paper (7.4 mg/cm2) showed that 98% of the oil evaporated in 4 hours. Overall, it is apparent that the penetration of TTO components through human skin is limited.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
17
22%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
11
14%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
6
8%
Medicine and Dentistry
6
8%
Chemistry
6
8%
Other
9
12%
Unknown
21
28%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 44. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 30 April 2026.
All research outputs
#1,182,087
of 34,307,719 outputs
Outputs from European Journal of Pharmaceutics & Biopharmaceutics
#20
of 3,472 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#2,130
of 120,002 outputs
Outputs of similar age from European Journal of Pharmaceutics & Biopharmaceutics
#1
of 31 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,307,719 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 96th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,472 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.2. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 120,002 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 31 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its contemporaries.
