Online Encyclopedia

CAJUPUT OIL

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V04, Page 961 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CAJUPUT OIL  , a volatile obtained by

distillation from the leaves of the myrtaceous tree Melaleuca leucadendron, and probably other
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species . The trees yielding the oil are found throughout the
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Indian
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Archipelago, the
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Malay Peninsula and over the hotter parts of the Australian continent; but the greater portion of the oil is produced from
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Celebes Island . The name cajuput is derived from the native Kayuputi or white wood . The oil is prepared from leaves collected on a hot dry day, which are macerated in
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water, and distilled after fermenting for a
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night . This oil is extremely pungent to the taste, and has the odour of a mixture of turpentine and camphor . It consists mainly of cineol (see
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TERPENES), from which cajuputene having a hyacinthine odour can be obtained by distillation with phosphorus pentoxide . The drug is a typical volatile oil, and is used internally in doses of a to 3 minims, for the same purposes as, say, clove oil . It is frequently employed externally as a
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counter-irritant .

End of Article: CAJUPUT OIL
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Additional information and Comments

Although I have used this natural oil I found it to irritate a large number of horses and small pets from burning to blistering therefore we no longer use it on the farm for any of the animals. There are a few animals it does not seem to bother however all most half of our horses broke out and blistered from the pure oil, even with trying to dilute into other products, or just diluting with witch hazel. It has a nice clean smell, but many seem to be allergic to it. Since it comes from a tree similar to the melaleuca tree I thought it would be safe to use. It is ashamed because I love the clean fresh minty woodsy smell of the oil.
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