Is the Biopesticide from Tea Tree Oil an Effective and Low-Risk Alternative to Chemical Pesticides? A Critical Review
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Date
2024-07-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
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 antiinflammatory 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 TTOin terms of the authorization extension as a fungicide in 2026.
Description
Keywords
tea tree oil, biopesticides, low-risk pesticides, fungicide, tea tree extract
Citation
Dziągwa-Becker, M.; Oleszek, M. Is the Biopesticide from Tea Tree Oil an Effective and Low-Risk Alternative to Chemical Pesticides? A Critical Review. Molecules 2024, 29, 3248. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29143248