The Lemon Myrtle Story

Some 20 million years ago, a volcano near the easternmost tip of Australia erupted. As it cooled and eroded down, a mountain range emerged. The rim of the volcano surrounded a crooked peak, all that remained of the hardened core. In the rich, red volcanic soils left by the eruption, rainforest developed. Today this mountain is known as Mount Warning – a sacred place of great significance to the local indigenous people.

The rainforest that still survives in parts of this region is called the ‘Big Scrub’, while the nearby coastal township on the easternmost tip of Australia is Byron Bay. This area of subtropical rainforest is home to some extraordinary Australian plant species. One of them is Lemon Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora), a native rainforest tree that is somewhat rare in the wild today.

The first thing you notice when you break the seal on a bottle of Lemon Myrtle essential oil is a crisp, lemon scent. This is the essence of the Australian rainforest. Smelling this remarkable oil leaves you feeling refreshed and uplifted, yet its properties go far beyond this stunning aroma.

Although the first commercial trials of Lemon Myrtle plantations didn’t take place until the mid 1990s on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia, the medicinal properties of this rainforest plant were being discovered over half a century earlier. A German company, Schimmel & Co, made the first known distillation of Lemon Myrtle from a tree in south east Queensland in 1888.¹  A few years later the Imperial Institute of London analysed Lemon Myrtle oil and found the sample contained 93.5% citral.²  Lemon Myrtle oil contains well over 50 different chemical compounds.

A variety of citrals make up the majority of these compounds and it is the synergy of both the major and minor citrals that give the oil its attractive lemony aroma and special properties. Citral has long been accepted as safe for human use by USA and European regulatory bodies.

It has been given the GRAS (generally recognised as safe) status. Lemon Myrtle essential oil contains around 95% citral – by contrast, lemon oil made from lemon peel contains only up to 10%. The germicidal properties of Lemon Myrtle were measured as far back as 1925 using the Ridley-Walker test, which found that the pure oil was 16 times more powerful than phenol (a chemical antibacterial agent) and higher than in both Eucalyptus and Tea Tree oils.³

Research by Charles Sturt University in 2000 confirmed that the essential oil of Lemon Myrtle is more anti-bacterial and anti-fungal than that of Tea Tree oil.⁴  These properties, together with its clean, pleasant and non-medicinal scent, make Lemon Myrtle an ideal ingredient in natural personal care products such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, body butter, body lotion and massage oil. Based in Byron Bay, Refreshed Lemon Myrtle works with independent farmers in the northern rivers district of New South Wales, who are committed to sustainable agriculture using Australian native species.

At Refreshed, we are committed to providing the highest and most consistent quality 100% natural Lemon Myrtle essential oil and are proud to be delivering personal care products based on this amazing native Australian rainforest plant.