Is the Biopesticide from Tea Tree Oil an Effective and Low-Risk Alternative to Chemical Pesticides? A Critical Review.
Magdalena Dziągwa-BeckerMarta OleszekPublished in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) (2024)
The use of chemical pesticides in agriculture contributes to soil, water and air pollution, biodiversity loss, and injury to non-target species. The European Commission has already established a Harmonized Risk Indicator to quantify the progress in reducing the risks linked to pesticides. Therefore, there is an increasing need to promote biopesticides, or so-called low-risk pesticides (LRP). Tea tree oil (TTO) is known for its antiseptic, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. TTO has been extensively studied in pest management as well as in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry; there are already products based on its active substances on the market. This review focuses on the overall evaluation of TTO in terms of effectiveness and safety as a biopesticide for the first time. The collected data can be an added value for further evaluation of TTO in terms of the authorization extension as a fungicide in 2026.
Keyphrases
- risk assessment
- gas chromatography
- air pollution
- anti inflammatory
- human health
- mass spectrometry
- staphylococcus aureus
- multidrug resistant
- electronic health record
- drinking water
- health insurance
- big data
- particulate matter
- lung function
- deep learning
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- low density lipoprotein
- plant growth