AUSTRALIA'S IDEA OF TEA TIME NATURAL REMEDY TRAVELS TO AMERICA.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

Organically speaking, ginseng, ginkgo biloba and St. John's wort might have to share the spotlight.

Given Americans' continued fascination with all things natural, Australian tea tree oil has the makings to become nature's next trendy extract, for its therapeutic benefits, affordability, versatility and increasing availability in American marketplaces.

Proponents tout the oil - a natural topical antiseptic - as something of a cure-all for everything from acne, toe fungus, head lice and gum disease to Legionnaires' disease and even germ-riddled bathrooms. You can buy it in its pure oil form or in a dozen hygiene products including soap, shampoo, acne lotion, dental floss, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant and foot balms.

Tea tree oil won over American consumers from the health food and alternative medicine markets in the 1990s, but only recently found shelf space with such ``mainstream'' retailers as nationwide department stores and specialty chains.

Suzanne Dean, an Australian plantation owner who has amassed 15 million tea trees on some 2,000 acres near New South Wales, opened Tea Tree Therapy in Ventura three years ago to push the product in the United States. (Her products are made stateside, but the trees stay Down Under for the wet, humid climate and slightly volcanic soil there.)

``When I came here 10 years ago, very few people even knew what it was,'' recalled Dean, a Santa Barbara resident whose Aussie accent remains intact. ``Even few people in the health food industry knew what it was. And only now do we see it moving into the mainstream here in America.''

The trend, she notes, is consistent with Americans' expanding attitudes toward health and wellness options.

``Sometimes it just takes a while for even a good thing to gain notoriety,'' says Dr. Michelle Levan, who runs Capital Drugs pharmacy in Sherman Oaks, a place where traditional pharmaceuticals are sold alongside alternative medicines and aromatherapies.

A more popular tea tree product, head lice shampoo, has its highest sales when kids return to school every fall.

``We've been selling this stuff for years and people swear by it,'' said Levan. ``I think maybe we're seeing more (tea tree oil products) now because of more competitive marketing.''

Australians have embraced tea tree oil for decades.

Which shouldn't be too surprising, considering the paperbark tea tree, Melaleuca alternifolia, thrives primarily in northeast Australia.

Aborigines used tea tree oil for hundreds of years before European settlers and scientists discovered its antiseptic uses in the 1920s, after distilling it from the prunings of small, narrow leaves.

The Australian government relied on tea tree oil so much during World War II for treating soldiers' minor wounds, burns, head lice and trenchfoot that it exempted tea tree growers, sellers and plantation workers from serving in the armed forces.

After hitting mainstream markets of Australia in the 1970s, notes Dean, Tea Tree products today are as commonplace in Australian drug and grocery stores as aspirin.

It has a few other notable uses as a bathroom sanitizer, air conditioning cleanser (to control the spread of Legionnaires' disease, a contagious pneumonia) and pesticide to remove ticks and leeches.

Manufacturers like Dean would love to see the oil hit a similar stride in the United States.

But although medical professionals recognize tea tree oil's antiseptic benefits, they advise users to take precautions.

First of all, tea tree oil should not be swallowed, as it's slightly toxic. In its pure form, it's best used topically on mild infections after diluting it in mineral or olive oil.

Secondly, everyone has a one-in-five chance of being allergic to Tea Tree Oil, warns Dr. Michael Hirt of the Center for Integrative Medicine in Tarzana, which uses natural treatments with Eastern and traditional Western medicine.

``It has been shown in clinical studies that 20 percent of people can develop an allergic reaction,'' he said. ``That's considered on the high side.''

To test for allergic reactions, like a bad rash, he recommends dabbing a drop on the forearm and letting it sit for three days. ``If the person develops a few small bumps there or a raised area, at least they don't smear it all over their face and find out, that way, that they're allergic.''

Thirdly, Hirt says tea tree oil should not be used on anyone with a ``serious'' infection or weakened immune system, such as a person undergoing chemotherapy or with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).

He also warns that using tea tree oil too often could reduce its bacteria-killing powers with some individuals, as certain bacteria can become resistant after frequent exposure.

With those exceptions, Hirt says tea tree oil is an effective treatment for conditions like mild skin infections or acne, and less caustic to skin than other chemical antiseptics.

And Levan, also a homeopathic practitioner, strongly advises anyone undergoing homeopathic therapies to not use tea tree oil, because its odor conflicts with homeopathic aromas.

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(1 -- 2) Tea Tree Therapy vice president Suzanne Dean and president Ed Heftman carry tea tree oil products in their Ventura shop. Dean's trees grow on Australian plantation land like that pictured above.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer