Manuka honey is gathered from beehives in Australia and New Zealand. Traditionally used for wound healing in these countries, manuka honey was approved as a wound dressing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2007.
Honey as Antibiotic
Manuka honey has potent antibacterial properties, making it especially beneficial for preventing and treating wound infections by drug-resistant bacteria, according to physician Robert Frykberg of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz.
Diabetic Benefits
Frykberg noted that the FDA-approved manuka honey product, Medihoney, has proven beneficial for healing foot ulcers in diabetic patients. Diabetics with foot ulcers that do not heal sometimes require foot amputation.
Time Frame
Medihoney wound dressings, manufactured by Derma Sciences Inc., last up to a week, making them convenient for people not staying at a hospital.
Gastrointestinal Effects
Manuka honey shows promise for healing peptic ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori bacteria, in research cited by the University of Waikato in New Zealand. It is also effective against various strains of bacteria that cause gastroenteritis.
Limitations
Although manuka honey can heal certain peptic ulcers by killing bacteria that cause them, the University of Waikato cautions that the antimicrobial activity would be ineffective for most systemic ailments. An oral dose of honey becomes diluted after digestive absorption.
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