Honey as Medicine has a Long History—New Zealand Honey is Focus of Intensive Research

Healthfacts, Nov, 2000 by Maryann Napoli

For about 4,000 years, honey has been a popular folk remedy around the world for ailments ranging from diarrhea to inflammation of the eyelids. Ancient Egyptians described it as an effective treatment for wounds, and modern studies have verified honey's superiority to the standard medical treatments for burns, skin ulcers, and wounds. A New Zealand scientist has advanced the cause by focusing research attention on one type of honey with an exceptionally high level of antibacterial activity effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, salmonella, and H. pylori, the culprit in most stomach ulcers. The research was reported at the First World Wound Healing Conference held recently in Melbourne, Australia.

Almost all types of honey (and sugar) have antibacterial activity. Until recently this was thought to be due solely to the combination of a high concentration of sugar (fructose and glucose) and acidity. Now researchers have come to appreciate that honey's antibacterial effect is due primarily to hydrogen peroxide, which New Zealand researchers say is formed in a "slow-release" manner by the enzyme glucose oxidase present in honey.

Studies cited at the conference demonstrated that honey hastens the healing time while avoiding the risks associated with the standard medical treatments. Antibiotics, for example, cause cell damage, and topical hydrogen peroxide in high concentrations will cause tissue damage. The moist environment created by honey is not only essential for tissue regrowth but also reduces the pain and cell damage that occurs when dried-out dressings are changed. Despite the published evidence, few physicians and nurses have abandoned antibiotics and antiseptics in favor of honey. The worldwide emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, however, may be the impetus for change.

At the wound healing conference, Peter Molan, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and director of the Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, said that honey has--in addition to a potent antibacterial activity--a debriding action, an anti-inflammatory action and a stimulatory effect on wound healing and tissue regrowth. All honeys are not equal; yet almost all reports on the medical use of honey give no consideration to the selection of a type of honey according to illness.

The ancients knew better. Aristotle, for example, wrote of light honey as a good salve for sore eyes and wounds. Honey can differ according to the region, season, and floral sources. Over 40 years ago, according to Dr. Molan, it was recognized that different honeys have different levels of antibacterial activity. Honeydew honey from the mountainous region of Central Europe, for example, has been found to have a particularly high level of antibacterial activity. The difference in potency, says Dr. Molan, is more than 100-fold.

For the past 19 years, Dr. Molan has been studying the health effects of honey produced in his native New Zealand, where European settlers introduced honeybees in the 19th century. Its high potency appears to be related to the nectar from the flowers of the tea tree, a bush that grows wild all over New Zealand. The tea tree flower, called manuka, lends its name to the honey which is also produced in some parts of Australia where a related plant species flourishes.

Manuka honey's ability to retain more of its potency than other honeys is apparently due to the fact that it has more to begin with. It manages to "hang tough" in circumstances that would weaken the healing ability of other honeys. For example, hydrogen peroxide, the chief element in the antibacterial effect of all honeys will be diminished or destroyed completely by contact with the catalase enzyme present in blood and other body fluids. A similar destructive scenario occurs when honey comes in contact with boiling water. (In other words, taking honey with hot tea for a sore throat might be counterproductive.) But Dr. Molan and colleagues found that manuka honey retains a high degree of its antibacterial activity in both of these common circumstances.

The New Zealand research indicates that there could be an additional, yet-to-be discovered important healing ingredient in manuka honey. Still, little has been done in the way of a head to head comparison with other honeys. This accounts for the statement posted by the Honey Research Unit at Waikato University, which offers this caution: "None of the results being obtained clinically should be considered evidence that active manuka honey is more effective than other honey--a comparative clinical trial will be needed to establish that. Nevertheless, there are good theoretical reasons for choosing to use active manuka honey..."

In response to the dismissive attitude on the part of most practitioners, Dr. Molan has conducted a review of the modern medical literature to demonstrate not only the efficacy of honey as a medicine but also the science underlying its effect. Studies have been conducted around the world demonstrating that honey produces speedier results with fewer complications compared to the standard medical treatments for everything from gangrene to infected cesarean incisions. In one review of the use of honey for eye ailments, honey was determined to have anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antibacterial effects. The type of studies include lab tests, animal studies, and clinical trials in which people with similar conditions were randomly assigned to honey treatment or the standard medical therapies.