Deep in the center of the hive, surrounded by the pervasive hum of thousands of honey bees, golden honey from the nectar of millions of flowers collected from up to 55,000 miles of travel sits within its comb. The honey is composed of both plant and bee components. Consisting primarily of the carbohydrates fructose and glucose, as well as water. Other then the carbohydrates, honey consists of many enzymes such as diastase (amylase), invertase (α-glucosi-dase) and glucose oxidase. Other enzymes present in smaller amounts are catalase and acid phosphatase. Phytochemicals also exist within honey, a source of antioxidants, as well as organic acids that hold honey at a pH of 3.9.
For thousands of years honey has been used for medicinal and nutritional purposes, revered by the ancient Egyptians, and even found buried within their tombs, the only item to remain preserved, unspoiled and still useful. Thousands of years unspoiled? Still usable? On op of that used as a revered medicine? Science has recently begun to take on these claims, and is beginning to find that honey is indeed a form of liquid gold, at least in its medicinal properties.
One of honeys most well known attributes, one that would assist in wound healing and in it's ability to remain unscathed for thousands of years within a tomb, is that it contains antibacterial activity. Most of the antibacterial activity of the honeys occurs due to hydrogen peroxide generation. Other researchers have identified the flavonoids in honey, particularly caffeic acid and ferulic acid, as the most likely contributors. For millennium honey has been used to treat wounds, and recently science is showing why it is being viewed as a viable and potent wound salve.
Bacteria, especially those associated with external wounds are found in a polysacchride biofilm which protects them from their host's immune system, antibiotics, and wound washing and drying. Therefore a topical agent, is needed to most effectively treat persistent biofilm wound infections. The only issue is that many topical antibiotics don't penetrate well, and in fact can be quite useless against resistant bacteria. Honey however, has been shown to be effective against MRSA, MRSE, Klebsiella, pseudomonas, and E. Coli, even those that are known to be antibiotic resistant. It has also been shown to encourage skin regrowth, B and T cell immune activation, as well as anti-inflammatory(through an anti-oxidant pathway). It has been used successfully on venous ulcers, chronic diabetic wounds, and burns.
Honey's glucose oxidase produces hydrogen peroxide and gluconic acid both which help to break down bacteria. It's low water content has been shown to prohibited microorganism growth, and the high osmolarity has been shown to help draw out tissue lymph and continue to bathe and help the healing process. Flavanoids and benzoic acid have also been identified as contributors.
There are also other non-peroxide antimicrobial components that have not yet been identified. Overall honey has been shown to be broad spectrum and effective antibiotic and wound ointment.
With so many naturally occurring medicinal products, and research showing expansive plausible uses, that delicious jar in your cupboard could come in handy for more then just your tea...
http://www.honey.com/nhb/about-honey/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22095907
"An overview of honey: Therapeutic properties and contribution in nutrition and human health" Christy E. Manyi-Loh1, Anna M. Clarke1 and Roland N. Ndip
I found this post particularly interesting since I myself go through jars of honey quite rapidly due to my intensifying tea addiction. Within the past year or so there have been several studies on honey and its medicinal effects with specific diseases, even cancer.
ReplyDeleteChrysin is a natural flavone found in honey that is a known antioxidant. However, upon further investigation by the School of Medicine in Mashhad, Iran chrysin was shown to have quite an impact on prostate cancer. Chrysin is able to induce apoptosis in human prostrate cancer cells as well as inhibit their proliferation. Chrysin is believed to regulate apoptosis by inhibiting chymotrypsin-like and trypsin-like proteasomes. After testing both honey and chrysin alone on a line of human prostate cancer cells the honey was shown to have a greater effect. This greater effect is due to the variety of polyphenols found in honey which contribute to stronger anti-proliferative effects than chrysin alone. Both honey and chrysin inhibited proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. This study led the investigators to believe that honey and chrysin are both promising possibilities for future prostate cancer treatment.
Honey is also under further study as a great antibacterial agent, particularly for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Two specific honeys are being studied for this very reason: Revamil and manuka medical-grade honey. Revamil is produced in greenhouses under standardized conditions and manuka honey is produced by the manuka bush from New Zealand and Australia. These medical-grade honeys are gamma-irradiated to rid any bacterial spores that may be present in raw honey. Both honeys have highly distinct compositions of bactericidal factors resulting in differences in bactericidal activity. The exact differences in bactericidal activity are shown in the study done by the department of Medical Microbiolgy at the University of Amsterdam. Their main conclusion is that the two honeys result in distinct bactericidal properties due to the fact that each honey’s bactericidal activity is exerted through entirely different sets of compounds. Two main compounds being Bee defensin-1 and H2O2; Revamil honey is high in both compounds while manuca honey does not accumulate either. Due to the wide variety of natural compounds in honey different honeys must be characterized according to their bactericidal activity and antibacterial factors in order to determine their specific antibacterial activity for medicinal purposes.
Samarghandian, S., J. Afshari, and S. Davoodi. “Chrysin reduces proliferation and induces apoptosis in the human prostate cancer cell line pc-3.” Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2011 June; 66(6): 1073–1079.
Kwakman, P., A. te Velde, L. de Boer, C. Vandenbroucke-Grauls, and S. Zaat. “Two Major Medicinal Honeys Have Different Mechanisms of Bactericidal Activity.” PLoS One. 2011; 6(3): e17709.
While looking up the health benefits of honey, I came across cinnamon and its health benefits. Cinnamon has long been a part of traditional Chinese medicine. Traditionally, the Chinese have used cinnamon to treat colds as well digestive problems such as diarrhea and nausea (Wong). Cinnamon has also been reported as a remedy for diabetes.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a study in Pakistan in 2003, a daily dosage of cinnamon to people suffering from Type II Diabetes caused a decrease in levels of fasting glucose, triglycerides, LDL, and total cholesterol (Manzella). Studies are currently being conducted by the US Agricultural Service to confirm these findings.
In addition, cinnamon also has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties that are also being tested (Manzella). I have also found that the beneficial components are unaltered by heat, so feel free to sprinkle some cinnamon on your oatmeal, coffee, meats, or teas.
Wong, Cathy. Benefits of Cinnamon. About.Com Alternative Medicine. 25 September 2011. http://altmedicine.about.com/od/cinnamon/a/cinnamon.htm.
Manzella, Debra. Can Cinnamon Help Lower Blood Glucose and Cholesterol?. About.Com Type II Diabetes.9 November 2010. http://diabetes.about.com/od/whatsonthehorizon/qt/cinnamon.htm
Behind the medicinal potential for honey is also an emerging industry. This reality is especially unfolding for medicinal manuka honey. A bottle of this particular type of honey can cost anywhere between $15-$50 depending on the brand, grade, organic vs. nonorganic, amount (in ounces), and it’s unique medicinal factor (UMF). The UMF describes the anti-bactericidal potential of the honey, is not found in all forms of manuka, and is measured on a numerical scale 10+ being minimum and 25+ maximum activity. The estimated value for the manuka honey industry in New Zealand is $75 million. According to an article published in October of this year, Massey University in New Zealand is embarking on a new initiative to boost the research surrounding the product in an effort to improve farming techniques and overall yield. The goal is to help the industry grow to $1 billion. As more research uncovers the healing capacity of manuka honey, it will be interesting to see how private and corporate interests will influence accessibility to medicinal honey products.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle=manuka-honey-research-to-grow-industry-10-05-2011