Eucalyptus smithii essential oil is also known as Gully Gum, from a tree with long, narrow and yellowish leaves. Originally from Australian, many Eucalyptus varieties were transplanted to South Africa around 1980, where they're truly thriving.

Like most eucalyptus oils, Eucalyptus smithii is stimulating in aroma, and used for similar applications: breathing support, and muscle and joint massage formulas. Eucalyptus smithii oil is considered the most mild of all varieties, and for many people it is well tolerated when applied topically. It may be the best choice when being diffused for bronchial and sinus ailments for children, and others whom may be sensitive to strong aromatics.

The oil does have a woody, camphorous aroma, as do other Eucalyptus species, with a wonderful "fresh" aspect to it as well. It's scent is much appreciated by our staff. It is thought that because of it's mild nature (note that it doesn't have a less potent scent, but the small differences in the natural chemistry leads to aromatherapy professionals to call it "mild") it can be used continually for long periods.

While the science of Eucalyptus doesn't focus on smithii, simply due to it being less popular in production than Blue Gum or Radiata (Narrow Leaf), it has been shown that inhalation of the essential oils can stimulate the immune system by upregulating the actions of our white blood cells, causing them to more actively remove infectious contagions from the bloodstream.

A 2008 study published in the BMC journal of Immunology (Apr 18;9:17) called "Stimulatory effect of Eucalyptus essential oil on innate cell-mediated immune response" concluded with this note: "Our data, demonstrating that Eucalyptus oil extract is able to implement the innate cell-mediated immune response, provide scientific support for an additional use of this plant extract, besides those concerning its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties and stimulate further investigations also using single components of this essential oil.

To learn more about the use of all our essential oils, we encourage you to visit The Ananda Apothecary Forums, where you can post questions regarding specific applications of each oil. Questions in the forums are regularly answered by Ananda Apothecary staff, and other experienced aromatherapy practitioners.