Manuka honey is made by honey bees from the nectar of the Leptospermum species of plants. It appears to have medical benefits when eaten or applied to the skin, which exceeds results seen with other honeys. Honey has been used for centuries to treat wounds but research is now establishing different uses and trying to separate myth from reality.
Antibacterial Action
The anti-bacterial activity of honey has been believed for many centuries and is thought to be due to four actions. Many pathogenic bacteria cannot survive in the environment created by honey's natural acidity. Nectar is turned into honey and preserved by naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide, a chemical that has a potent antibacterial effect; Honey is also a strong sugar solution that draws water out of bacterial cells causing them to dehydrate and be unable to multiply. This effect will also help reduce inflammation of surrounding healthy tissue.
Wound Dressing
Manuka honey is principally used as a wound dressing as it fights infection, reduces swelling, removes dirty and damaged tissue and promotes rapid healing. It works against some of the most pathogenic bacteria in infected wounds including E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Streptococcus pyogenes. In 1992, the research team at Waikato Hospital in New Zealand led by Professor Peter Molan found that manuka honey was effective against all laboratory tested strains of MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus). Ten years later, a "Lancet" article reported that this research had been repeated in humans and found that MRSA infected wounds were particularly sensitive to honey dressings.
Diarrhea
The 1985 "British Medical Journal" study found that young children suffering from diarrhea who were given a honey solution to drink recovered more quickly than those given a standard oral re-hydration treatment. This was attributed to the antibacterial effect of the honey and when the test was replicated in the laboratory, it again gave weight to the argument that unidentified factors exist in honey that enhance its antibacterial activity.
Gingivitis
A study conducted at the University of Otago, New Zealand in 2004 found that there were significant reductions in plaque levels and the amount of gum bleeding in patients who regularly chewed a manuka honey "leather." This was thought to be due to both the antibacterial effects and the anti-inflammatory effects of the honey.
Stomach Ulcers
An organism called Helicobacter pylori is commonly found in gastric or stomach ulcers. Researchers at the University of Waikato in New Zealand found that all five isolates of helicobacter that they tested were killed by manuka honey though none were affected by a solution of honey from other sources. This research has yet to be replicated in human patients.
Mastitis in Dairy Cows
Mastitis is an infection of the udder in cows, sheep and goats that leads to a sick animal and unusable milk. It costs the dairy industry a lot of money each year in terms of lost milk and expensive treatments. The team at Waikato University in New Zealand have postulated that if a solution of honey were infused into the udder, then treatment would be cheaper and recovery would be quicker. They have successfully treated the seven main species of bacteria which cause mastitis in the laboratory but have not yet carried out sufficient testing in dairy animals for it to be launched as a commercial treatment.
References
- Waikato Honey Research Unit
- "Sweet solution to superbug infections? "; D Bonn; The Lancet Infectious Diseases; 2003 Oct;3(10):608
- "The effects of manuka honey on plaque and gingivitis: a pilot study"; English HK, Pack AR, Molan PC; J Int Acad Periodontol 2004 Apr;6(2):63-7
- "Susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to the antibacterial activity of manuka honey"; al Somal N, Coley KE, Molan PC, Hancock BM; J R Soc Med. 1994 Jan;87(1):9-12.
- "Honey in the treatment of infantile gastrenteritis"; I.E.Haffejee, A. Moosa; British Medical Journal 1985;290:1866-1867
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