Research has revealed that not only does Honey have confirmed antibiotic, antifungal and antioxidant properties, but its healing and antimicrobial capacity is dependent upon the type of flower the honeybees are harvesting.
This means that many of the properties giving honey its potency originates with the plants being pollinated.
Researchers from the School of Medicine at Malaysia’s University of Sains recently published a study that compared the antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity of several types of Honeys – each from bees that harvested different flowers in different regions.
They found that among the different honeys tested, Honey from bees harvesting from Acacia tree flowers and Honey from bees harvesting pollen from Pineapple flowers had the highest antimicrobial content. This compared to sweeter Honeys such as Tualang honey, which contained the highest antioxidant properties – and the highest levels of polyphenols and flavonoids compared to the others. Tualang honey also had the greatest color intensity, and Acacia honey was the sweetest.
Other studies show similar findings about honey
In another recent study, researchers from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz University tested several types of honeys to determine their respective antimicrobial capacity along with their antioxidant potential.The researchers tested several different types of Honeys against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. These two species are two of the most aggressive bacteria known, and both have become to different degrees, resistant to many of conventional medicine’s antibiotics – MRSA being one of the most aggressive and lethal. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an aggressive bacteria known to harbor in soils and around moist areas such as hot tubs and swimming pools – earning its reputation as the “hot tub bacteria.”
The researchers found that among the different Honeys tested, Honey from bees that harvested flowers from the Manuka tree had significantly more antibacterial capacity against Staphylococcus aureus. Manuka honey was measured as having a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 6-7%. MIC relates to the lowest concentration needed to inhibit microorganism growth overnight.
On the other hand, Honey from bees harvesting pollen from wild carrot flowers was found to have the greatest antibacterial capacity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa - but with a MIC of 12%.
MICs of 6-7% and 12% are considered quite effective antimicrobials.
Lavender honeys not as antibiotic
Interestingly, Lavender honey was the least effective antimicrobial of the Honeys tested. Lavender honey also had the lowest polyphenol content, while Manuka honey contained the highest levels of polyphenols.The researchers concluded: “The differences between Honey samples in terms of antibacterial and antioxidant activity could be attributed to the natural variations in floral sources of nectar and the different locations.”
Researchers from India’s Chitkara College of Pharmacy in Punjab also studied a number of different Honeys. They collected Honey samples from ten different regions and matched those with the flowers being harvested by the bees, including Eucalyptus, Amomum, Brassica, Acacia, and Citrus. The researchers tested the samples for both antimicrobial capacity and antioxidant capacity along with pH, Brix and other qualities.
In this study the researchers tested the Honeys against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria to rate their degree of antimicrobial capacity.
This research again found that the Honeys’ antimicrobial/antioxidant capacity was tied to the type of flower being harvested by the bees.
Eucalyptus honey provides some of the highest antibiotic potential
Some of the highest levels of antimicrobial capacity was found in Eucalyptus honey, Azadirachta honey and Citrus honey, with the Azadirachta honey having the highest levels in this study.One of the main flavonoid types in Honey are catechins. Other research has discovered that catechins have the ability to deter tumor growth. In addition, Honey contains significant levels of gallic acid. Gallic acid has also been found to be anticarcinogenic.
Most of the tests included screening for 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Practically all the Honeys contained different degrees of HMF. HMF has been shown to be antifungal as well as antibacterial. HMF has been shown to inhibit the growth of various types of yeasts, as well as E. coli and other species of bacteria as indicated in these studies on Honey.
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The above studies illustrate that while most raw Honey is antimicrobial and antioxidant, the relative degrees of its antimicrobial and antioxidant capacities relate specifically to the type of flower the honeybees are harvesting.
The bottom line is that raw Honey is antimicrobial and antioxidant, and it is for this reason that Honey can be used to help heal cuts and other wounds, gargled for a sore throat and applied in other ways to help fight off infection.
Raw honey contains more antibiotic potency
Raw is important because many commercially available Honeys are heated and clarified. During this heated process many of the antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds are eliminated or reduced. This means that clear Honey will have less antimicrobial capacity than raw Honey.If your Honey is clear – even if it claims to be raw – it should be questioned. In order to clarify honey it must be filtered through a screen. In order to get the honey to flow through the filtration screens it must be heated.
REFERENCES:
Moniruzzaman M, Khalil MI, Sulaiman SA, Gan SH. Physicochemical and antioxidant properties of Malaysian honeys produced by Apis cerana, Apis dorsata and Apis mellifera. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2013 Feb 23;13:43.
Alzahrani HA, Alsabehi R, Boukraâ L, Abdellah F, Bellik Y, Bakhotmah BA. Antibacterial and antioxidant potency of floral honeys from different botanical and geographical origins. Molecules. 2012 Sep 4;17(9):10540-9.
Kumar P, Sindhu RK, Narayan S, Singh I. Honey collected from different floras of Chandigarh Tricity: a comparative study involving physicochemical parameters and biochemical activities. J Diet Suppl. 2010 Dec;7(4):303-13.