About Emu Oil

1. Quick-look section on the physiological properties of Emu Oil
2. The Discovery of Emu Oil
3. Where does the oil come from?
4. The composition of Emu Oil
5. Research on the properties of Emu Oil
6. Emu Oil’s Anti-Aging effect on the skin
7. Emu Oil in wound care and healing
8. Does Emu Oil help with stiffness and pain?
9. What does the medical profession think of Emu Oil?


1. Quick look section on the physiological properties of Emu Oil

Properties of Pure Australian Emu Oil:
• Anti-inflammatory
• Anti-bacterial
• Promotes cellular regeneration
• Deeply penetrating
• Comedogenic (doesn’t block pores)
• Non-allergenic (no side effects)
• Transdermally conductive (penetrates skin)
• A natural product

Pure Australian Emu Oil can be used for:
• relieving aches and pains in muscles and joints
• soothing and moisturizing dry or chapped skin
• reducing inflammation and swelling in muscles and joints
• penetrating the skin to encourage blood supply to bruising and tissue damage
• moisturizing several layers of the skin naturally
• encouraging hair and skin cells to re-grow (only the sleeping ones)
• decreasing the effects of some skin complaints
• lessening the scarring of recent wounds
• inducing and increasing the effects of therapies working with muscles, joints and skin
• helping skin, joint or muscle problems in animals

2. The Discovery of Emu Oil

Emu Oil is derived from the flightless bird indigenous to Australia, known as the Emu.
The Australian Aborigines have known about the great healing properties of the oil for thousands of years. They have used it as a valued remedy to keep their muscles and joints supple and to protect their skin from the harsh Australian sun. The early pioneers saw the Aborigines hanging Emu skins from trees. They thought it was an Aborigine ritual until they discovered that they were collecting the oil from the Emu skins as it melted in the hot sun. It was not long before most pioneers had a pot of the oil in their medicine cabinets, and some reported remarkable healing effects. The famous explorer Robert O'Hara Burke tells how he rubbed emu oil into his arms when he was sunburned and found that, not only did it help his sunburn, but his stiff elbow as well.

3. Where does the oil come from?
Our oil comes from free-range Australian Emus which are fed on a healthy diet of natural grain (with no additives or hormones) and pasture. The oil is refined from the large pad of fat which is found on the Emus’ back. Nature supplied the Emus with this fat to protect them from the hot Australian sun, to enable a quick healing after fighting with other Emus and for sustenance during their long nesting time.
A complex refinement process ensures that all bacteria, protein and particulate matter are removed from the raw oil.

4. The Composition of Emu Oil
Emu oil is made up of fatty acids which are mainly (70%) mono and poly unsaturated fats. It also contains different essential fatty acids, Linoleic acid (Omega 6) and Alpha-Linolenic acid (Omega 3) which are highly beneficial. Omega 6 helps replenish skin cells, and Omega 3 has anti-inflammatory properties. The main fatty acid (up to 40% or more) is Oleic acid (Omega 9) which is mono-unsaturated and is said to be beneficial in reducing inflammation and pain. Fatty acids are essential in our diet as they help maintain cell growth and help control blood clotting and inflammation.
An average batch of our Pure Australian Emu Oil contains the following:

Arachinic acid: 0.05%
Gadoleic acid: 0.05%
Linoleic acid (Omega-6): 11.7%
Alpha-Linolenic acid (Omega-3): 1.6%
Myristic acid: 0.5%
Oleic acid (Omega 9): 45.6%
Palmitic acid: 23.1%
Palmitoleic acid: 5.4%
Stearic acid: 7.7%


5. Research on the properties of Emu Oil

A great deal of research has been carried out in America, Australia and France.
Dr. Hobday an Australian specialist has over ten years of clinical experience with Emu oil, and has reported no allergic reactions from any of his patients. He recommends the oil for burns, muscle aches and pains, bruising and a variety of skin conditions. Dr. Hobday conducted the first recorded clinical trials of emu oil in three main areas: dry skin problems; treatment of muscle aches and pains; treatment of wounds which had epithelialised (scarred). Dr. Hobday observed the following conditions benefited from Emu Oil applications:
• eczema (but not inflamed eczema);
• recent keloid scarring;
• stiff, painful and swollen joints;
• "growing pains" in children’ legs
• recent bruising and muscle sprains;
• the healing process
Dr. Peter Ghosh at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Australia and Dr. Michael Whitehouse at University of Adelaide, Australia, have reported that a combination of emu oil with a suitable trans-dermal transporter is found to show anti-inflammatory (anti-rheumatic) activity.
Dr. Thom Leahey of the Ardmore Arthritis Clinic in Oklahoma has reported very positive results in clinical trials with arthritis patients. "The dramatic results I have observed convinced me that this oil can make an impact on those suffering from arthritis. The advent of this oil has simply changed my practice. The research is impressive. The initial results and potential are so exciting. I've begun recommending the use of Emu Oil as part of a regular treatment program for patients. I've observed some very surprising results. The oil is very economical compared to regular arthritis medicines, and appears to have fewer side effects. It is very encouraging to find something that may help relieve the suffering associated with arthritis, and it's very exciting to be a part of my project that may impact the quality of life for so many people."

The Department of Dermatology, at University of Texas Medical School in Houston have tested Emu Oil in concentrations of 25%, 75% and 100% and shown that Emu Oil in concentrations of up to 100% is non-comedogenic, i.e. it does not clog the pores of the skin.

Dr. Alexander Zemtsov of Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Monica Gaddis of Ball Memorial Hospital, and Dr. Victor Montalvo-Lugo of Ball Memorial Hospital, have done a study in which eleven human subjects took part in a double-blind clinical study which compared emu oil with mineral oil in texture, skin permeability and moisturizing properties, as well as comedogenicity and irritability to the skin. No irritation to the skin was observed with either oil. However, comedogenicity of emu oil was significantly lower than that of mineral oil, and all subjects stated a unanimous preference for emu oil.

Dr. Leigh Hopkins, AEA Oil Standards Team, compared the oil from human’s skin with Emu Oil and found that the fatty acid composition is quite similar. In both types of oil, mono-unsaturated oleic acid is the most prevalent fatty acid, followed by Palmitic acid, then Linoleic acid, which is an EFA (essential fatty acid). This similarity may be one of the factors enabling emu oil to have such a positive action on human skin.

6. Emu Oil’s Anti-Aging effect on the skin

Research carried out by Dr. Michael Holick, M.D, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine, shows that there is an increase in cellular activity when Emu Oil is applied to the skin. This means that massaging Emu Oil into the skin encourages the cells underneath to grow, thickening the underlying tissue. This thickening plumps up the skin making wrinkles less obvious.

7. Emu Oil in wound care and healing

Emu Oil has been found to stimulate cell growth in all layers of the skin it permeates. Healing is faster when Emu Oil is applied to the wound as soon as possible. It seems to work most effectively on recent scarring.
Dr. G.R. Hobday in Australia, used Emu Oil on wounds and found they healed better with the application of Emu Oil.

8. Does Emu Oil help with stiffness and pain?

The main reason the Aborigines used Emu Oil was to soothe their stiff joints and sore muscles. Recent research has found that Emu Oil helps with stiffness and pain after it has been massaged into the affected area. Most users of Emu Oil find that it relieves them of arthritic pain. Many people use it before and after any sports activity to keep their muscles and joints supple.

9. What does the medical profession think of Emu Oil?

Many doctors and chemists use and recommend Emu Oil to their patients. In Australia Emu Oil is a registered pharmaceutical substance but in the United Kingdom it is not yet registered.