Manuka Honey Destroys Staph Infections

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (more commonly known as MRSA or Staph infection) is an infection caused by a group of bacteria called staphylococcus aureus. Problems occur if Staphyloccocus aureus bacteria are able to enter the body through a cut or wound. The battle against MRSA wound infection is becoming more difficult as antibiotic resistance is widespread and the incidence of MRSA increases.

The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is often found on the skin or nose. These bacteria can cause anything from minor skin infections and boils to such potentially life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis and toxic shock syndrome. Once MRSA is in the bloodstream, it can attack vital organs and become fatal. MRSA was first discovered in hospital settings, therefore MRSA has been nick named the ‘Hospital Superbug’ or HA-MRSA (Hospital Associated MRSA). About 500,000 hospital patients in the United States develop staph infections every year. However, MRSA is no longer exclusively found in hospital environments. MRSA can now also be contracted in community settings and is called CA-MRSA, meaning Community Associated MRSA. These infections seem to be increasingly resistant to the penicillin-related antibiotics used to treat them.

The reason why medication has become ineffective in treating MRSA is because bacteria have the capability to change, mutate and adapt, which allows them to become resistant to antibiotics. However, recent studies have found that Active Manuka Honey is an effective antibacterial treatment for MRSA infected wounds. "Manuka Honey dressings for wounds are now available and are helpful in preventing the spread of MRSA," says Frank Buonanotte, CEO of Honeymark International, a manufacturer of health care products containing Active Manuka Honey as a healing agent. "Manuka Honey has medicinal qualities not found in other types of honey. Manuka Honey has been highly effective in many cases where conventional medicines have not been successful in controlling the MRSA infection."

Clinical trials have concluded that the antibacterial potency of Manuka Honey is well in excess of that needed to stop the growth of MRSA and VRE. Under laboratory conditions the unusual antibacterial activity of Manuka Honey is about twice as great as the hydrogen peroxide activity of other honeys. "Honeymark has developed a First Aid Antiseptic Lotion made with Active Manuka Honey that is extremely effective in treating wounds infected with MRSA," says Buonanotte. "With Staph infections becoming more widespread, this product has become a necessary alternative to antibiotics." In addition to a variety of retail locations, Honeymark's First Aid Antiseptic Lotion with Manuka Honey can be purchased on their website at www.HoneymarkProducts.com.

Active Manuka Honey's Unique Characteristics

• Only active Manuka honey provides non-hydrogen peroxide antibacterial components.
  
• The Manuka antibacterial factor is unaffected by enzymes in the body that destroy hydrogen peroxide components.
  
• The Manuka antibacterial factor is highly effective against antibiotic resistant "superbugs."
  
• The Manuka antibacterial component maintains its potency even when diluted over 50 times as will happen when used on or in the body.
  
• The Manuka antibacterial factor is unaffected by heat, light, or time.
  
• The Manuka antibacterial factor may be used full strength and covered. It does not require moisture or oxygen to be effective, as do other honeys.
  
• Active Manuka's antibacterial factor diffuses more deeply into skin tissue than do the enzymes of other honeys.
  

Natural Treatment for Gum Disease

Honey is a good antimicrobial and has a great number of applications for treating all sorts of ailments aside from gum disease. Everything from eczema to prostate problems are being effectively treated with honey. However, not all types of honey are the same. Some honeys may not be any better for your teeth than refined sugar, but at the other end of the spectrum, there are honeys which are outstanding for their antimicrobial properties.

Honey contains an enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide which is believed to be the main reason for the antimicrobial activity of honey. Types of honey differ greatly in their antimicrobial potency, varying as much as a hundred fold. The research has shown that honey not only stops the growth of the dental plaque bacteria, it reduces the amount of acid produced, which stops the bacteria from producing dextran. Dextran, a component of dental plaque, is the gummy polysaccharide that the bacteria produce in order to adhere to the surface of the teeth.

Honey derived from the Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) bush, found in abundance in New Zealand, claims the highest potency of antimicrobial properties. In fact, Manuka honey's antibacterial factor is unaffected by enzymes in the body that destroy hydrogen peroxide components. Normally, peroxide isn't considered a good antimicrobial because the body too quickly dilutes it. It also has an exceptionally high level of plant-derived antimicrobial activity. Antioxidants in honey prevent the formation of free radicals and the nutrient supply of honey is an important factor in new tissue growth, damaged by infection, as well.

Manuka honey has UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) in addition to the usual hydrogen peroxide anti-bacterial activity making it doubly potent. UMF honey is more effective than hydrogen peroxide against some types of bacteria. The level of UMF activity is found in laboratory testing by removing the hydrogen peroxide from the honey and using the same test method for testing an 'active honey'. A rating is found describing the anti-bacterial activity remaining in the honey after the hydrogen peroxide has been removed. This is called Active UMF 10+. UMF is an additional anti-bacterial component that is unique to Manuka Honey.

How is the honey used on the teeth? Some recommend simply rubbing it into the gums after brushing. Since Manuka honey retains it's antimicrobial properties when diluted up to 50 times, it may likely be able to be used as an oral irrigant, when diluted with distilled or filtered water, and injected straight into periodontal pockets using an oral irrigator.

Honey as an Antimicrobial Agent

Honey having antibacterial properties has been known for more than a century. Although it has been used as a medicine since ancient times in many cultures, in its ancient usage there was no recognition of its antibacterial properties. ­It was just known to be an effective remedy. This is not surprising considering that it is only since the latter part of the last century that it has become known that many ailments are the result of infection by micro-organisms. Now it can be recognized that the effectiveness of honey in many of its medical uses is probably due to its antibacterial activity.

It is well established that honey inhibits a broad spectrum of bacterial species. There are many reports of bactericidal as well as bacteriostatic activity. There have also been reports of honey having anti-fungal activity. These numerous reports of the antimicrobial activity of honey have been comprehensively reviewed. The collation of data shows that honey is active against a wide range of bacterial and fungal species, many of which cause infections. However, there are ailments which may be treated with honey which have not had the infectious agents tested for their sensitivity to the antimicrobial activity of honey. Also, there has not been much distinction made in the different types of antimicrobial activity in honey to which the various microbial species are sensitive.

• Osmotic effect Honey is a saturated solution of sugars, 84% being a mixture of fructose and glucose.
  
• Acidity Honey is characteristically quite acidic, its pH being between 3.2 and 4.5, which is low enough to be inhibitory to many animal pathogens.
  
• Hydrogen Peroxide The major antibacterial activity in honey has been found to be due to hydrogen peroxide produced enzymically in the honey.
  
• Phytochemical factors the evidence for the existence of other antibacterial factors is mainly that the peroxide-generating system does not account for all of the observed antibacterial activity, but there have also been some reports of isolation of antibacterial substances from honey that are not hydrogen peroxide.
  
• Variation in antibacterial activity in almost all reports on the medical use of honey as an antibacterial agent, no consideration is given to the selection of type of honey for therapeutic use.
  

Active Manuka Honey

Manuka groves can be found cloaked with an array of dazzling white flowers every year for a short six-week period in the lush valleys of Waikato New Zealand. Buzzing among these flowers, honeybees can be found in great abundance tapping the sweet nectar from the hearts of the Manuka flowers to create a very rare and extraordinary therapeutic grade honey known as UMF active Manuka honey

It takes more than two million Manuka flowers with bees carrying their own weight in nectar and pollen to make just one pound of this golden Manuka honey. Extremely rare, less than two percent of all of the Manuka honey per year is considered active enough to be certified UMF.

Honey is produced from a variety of floral sources and its natural antimicrobial activity varies greatly with origin and processing. Generally it is the naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide produced by enzymes in the honey that is slowly released in sufficient enough levels to be effective against bacteria but not enough to cause damage to the tissue.

UMF active Manuka honey has an added benefit specific to its floral source known as UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) that gives it an extremely powerful edge over other honeys. It is so powerful that scientific studies have shown the anti-bacterial activity of UMF active Manuka honey to be more than 100 fold stronger compared to other honey. This sweet treat even has the ability to kill antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.

In order to determine the antibacterial activity of honey, laboratory testing must be undertaken. Currently only New Zealand Manuka honey as well as an Australian variety are tested and rated for activity. Although honey must have a rating of at least 4 to be considered active, medical professionals in New Zealand and Australia use active Manuka honey with a rating of UMF 10 or higher. A higher level of UMF is preferred for maximum potency. Active Manuka honey is compared with a standard reference antiseptic (phenol) for potency. For example, a honey with a rating of 15 would be equivalent in antiseptic potency to a 15% solution of phenol (carbolic disinfectant).

Honey as a Cure

A cancer hospital in Manchester is importing Manuka honey from New Zealand to treat patients following surgery for mouth and throat cancers.

Dr. Nick Slevin, the specialist leading the program at Christie Hospital in Didsbury, Manchester, says Manuka honey has special anti-inflammatory and anti-infection properties and is believed to reduce the likelihood of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infection.

The Manchester Royal Infirmary has been using special honey-coated dressings since May and 60 patients at the hospital are taking part in a study to see if the honey can prevent infections which can be resistant to antibiotics.

The honey is produced by bees which mainly feed on the Manuka bush and the hospital is buying it in bulk.

The practice is not new as honey has been used as a medicine since the Ancient Egyptians, who regarded it as a cure for just about everything. For health care products containing Active Manuka Honey go to www.HoneymarkProducts.com.

Wound Care

The use of Manuka Honey as a wound dressing material, an ancient remedy that has been rediscovered, is becoming of increasing interest as more reports of its effectiveness are published. The clinical observations recorded are that infection is rapidly cleared, inflammation, swelling and pain are quickly reduced, odour is reduced, sloughing of necrotic tissue is induced, granulation and epithelialisation are hastened, and healing occurs rapidly with minimal scarring. The antimicrobial properties of Manuka Honey prevent microbial growth in the moist healing environment created. Unlike other topical antiseptics, Manuka Honey causes no tissue damage. In fact, in animal studies it has been demonstrated histologically that it actually promotes the healing process. It has a direct nutrient effect as well as drawing lymph out to the cells by osmosis. The stimulation of healing may also be due to the acidity of honey. The osmosis creates a solution of honey in contact with the wound surface which prevents the dressing sticking, so there is no pain or tissue damage when dressings are changed. There is much anecdotal evidence to support its use, and randomised controlled clinical trials that have shown that Manuka Honey is more effective than silver sulfadiazine and a polyurethane film dressing for the treatment of burns.


Many medical professionals are using Manuka Honey and getting good results in patients with wounds that have not responded to standard treatment. Clearing bacterial infection from a wound is essential to allow the healing process to occur. Recent tests on many strains of multi-antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as MRSA strains MRSA, VRE and Acinetobacter baumarii have shown that these bacteria have no resistance to Manuka Honey. These "superbugs" are a serious clinical problem as infections with them often cannot be treated at all with antibiotics.


The most common skin wound infecting species of bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus has been found to be particularly sensitive to Manuka Honey. Studies indicate that Manuka Honey is very effective as a dressing for wounds, burns and skin ulcers for the following reasons:

• inflammation, swelling and pain are quickly reduced;
  
• malodour is reduced;
  
• shedding of dead tissue is induced so surgical removal is unnecessary;
  
• healing occurs rapidly with minimal scarring and with no need for skin grafting;
  
• infection is rapidly cleared.

Key Points:

1. Manuka Honey is a traditional topical treatment for infected wounds. It can be effective on antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.


3. The antibacterial properties of Manuka Honey include the release of low levels of hydrogen peroxide. Some honeys have an additional phytochemical antibacterial component.


4. Many authors support the use of Manuka Honey in infected wounds and some suggest its prophylactic use on the wounds of patients susceptible to MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria.


5. The viscosity of Manuka Honey provides a protective barrier to prevent wounds becoming infected.


6. Manuka Honey creates a moist healing environment that allows skin cells to regrow across a healing wound flush with the surface of the wound, preventing deformity of the skin. (If a dry scab forms on a wound, the skin cells can only grow across the wound deeper down where it is moist.)


7. Manuka Honey causes scabs and dead cells to lift off the surface of the wound, leaving a clean healthy wound bed in which regrowth of tissue can occur.


8. Manuka Honey stimulates the regrowth of tissue involved in the healing process. It stimulates the formation of new blood capillaries and the growth of fibroblasts that replace the connective tissue of the deeper layer of the skin and produce the collagen fibers that give strength to the repair. In addition, honey stimulates the growth of epithelial cells that form the new skin cover over a healed wound. Honey thus prevents scarring and keloid formation, and removes the need for skin grafting even with quite large wounds.


9. Manuka Honey does not stick to the underlying wound tissues, so there is no tearing away of newly formed tissue, and no pain, when dressings are changed.


10. Manuka Honey has an anti-inflammatory action, which reduces the swelling around a wound. This improves circulation and thus hastens the healing process. It also reduces pain. The amount of fluid exuding from wounds is also decreased by the antiinflammatory action.


11. The high sugar content of Manuka Honey draws lymph out of a wound, which lifts dirt out of the wound bed.


12. Manuka Honey prevents the odor that is commonly associated with serious wounds and skin ulcers, by clearing bacterial infection, and more immediately, by providing sugar to any bacteria present. In this environment, lactic acid is produced instead of the smelly byproducts of the degradation of protein.


13. Manuka Honey rapidly clears infection from wounds. It is fully effective even with antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Unlike antiseptics and antibiotics, there is no impairment of the healing process through adverse effects on wound tissues.


14. Manuka Honey's antibacterial quality not only rapidly clears existing infection, it protects wounds from additional infection.


15. Manuka Honey debrides wounds and removes malodor.


16. Manuka Honey's anti-inflammatory activity reduces edema and minimizes scarring.


17. Manuka Honey stimulates growth of granulation and epithelial tissues to speed healing.


The antibacterial potency of honey of average level activity is well in excess of that needed to stop the growth of MRSA and VRE. Since honey is of proven effectiveness in clearing wounds of infection with other bacteria, and it gives many other benefits as a wound dressing material, there is good justification for trying it for the treatment of wounds infected with MRSA and VRE.

The unusual antibacterial activity of manuka honey is about twice as great as the hydrogen peroxide activity of other honey against VRE, but against MRSA the activity of the two honeys is similar. On wounds, some hydrogen peroxide may be broken down, so honey with hydrogen peroxide activity may be less effective.


First Aid Antiseptic Lotion with Manuka Honey reduces and guards against bacterial contamination or skin infection in minor cuts, scrapes and burns. Click here for more information or to purchase this product.

What's special about active manuka honey?

For the past 19 years honey researchers at the University of Waikato have been investigating what many local New Zealanders have accepted as common wisdom: our local manuka honey is a superior treatment for wound infections. Manuka honey is gathered in New Zealand from the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium, which grows uncultivated throughout the country. (More recently, as a result of systematic screening of Australian honeys, a honey with the same properties has been found to be produced from Leptospermum polygalifolium, which grows uncultivated in a few parts of Australlia.)

After the results of this work became known through publications in scientific journals, many people contacted the Honey Research Unit to find out what is so special about active manuka honey. The pertinent facts are:

• Honey has an antibacterial activity, due primarily to hydrogen peroxide formed in a "slow-release" manner by the enzyme glucose oxidase present in honey, which can vary widely in potency. Some honeys are no more antibacterial than sugar, while others can be diluted more than 100-fold and still halt the growth of bacteria. The difference in potency of antibacterial activity found among the different honeys is more than 100-fold.
  
• "Active manuka honey" (and its Australian equivalent) is the only honey available for sale that is tested for its antibacterial activity. It contains an additional antibacterial component found only in honey produced from Leptospermum plants: what has been called the "Unique Manuka Factor" (UMF). There is evidence that the two antibacterial components may have a synergistic action.
  
• UMF is not affected by the catalase enzyme present in body tissue and serum. This enzyme will break down, to some degree, the hydrogen peroxide which is the major antibacterial factor found in other types of honey. If a honey without UMF were used to treat an infection, the potency of the honey's antibacterial activity would most likely be reduced because of the action of catalase.
  
• The enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide in honey is destroyed when honey is exposed to heat and light. But UMF is stable, so there is no concern about manuka honey losing its activity in storage.
  
• The enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide in honey becomes active only when honey is diluted. But UMF is active in full strength honey, which will provide a more potent antibacterial action diffusing into the depth of infected tissues.
  The enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide in honey needs oxygen to be available for the reaction, so may not work under wound dressings or in wound cavities. Honey with UMF is active in all situations.
  
• The enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide in honey becomes active only when the acidity of honey is neutralised by body fluids, but then the honey is diluted.
  The enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide in honey could be destroyed by the protein-digesting enzymes that are in wound fluids.
  
• The UMF antibacterial activity diffuses deeper into skin tissues than does the hydrogen peroxide from other types of honey.
  
• Honey with UMF is more effective than that with hydrogen peroxide against some types of bacteria. For example, active manuka honey with UMF is about twice as effective as other honey against Eschericihia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, the most common causes of infected wounds.

Many medical professionals are using active manuka honey - and getting good results in patients with wounds that have not responded to standard treatment. For example, a successful trial of active manuka honey on unresponsive skin ulcers was recently published in the New Zealand Medical Journal. In addition, staff at a large hospital in Brisbane, Australia, recently used active manuka honey as a wound dressing on a patient for whom honey without UMF had failed. In other hospitals clinicians have likewise noted improvement in healing rates when changing from other honey to a manuka honey with a good level of UMF.

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 with a good level of UMF for management of wound infections.

To rate the potency of antibacterial activity of honey, I devised the testing method and the UMF number. The UMF numbers come from a standard laboratory test of antibacterial activity, with honey being compared with a standard antiseptic (phenol, also known as carbolic) for potency. For example, a honey with a UMF rating of 4 would be equivalent to the antiseptic potency of 4% solution of phenol, as used as carbolic disinfectant; a honey with a rating of 10 would have a potency equivalent to a 10% solution of phenol.

Medical professionals in New Zealand use active manuka honey with a rating of UMF 10 or higher. Although good results may be obtained with lower levels of activity, there is a chance that the lower activity will not be enough to fully clear an infection. In addition, honey with a lower level of activity will not allow as much of the antibacterial elements to diffuse into infected tissue, which could mean that effective control of infection may not be achieved in deeper tissue.

To alleviate any concern over the possible risk of introducing infection by the use of an unprocessed natural product on wounds, honey can be sterilised by gamma irradiation without loss of any of its antibacterial activity. Active manuka honey and the Australian Leptospermum honey are commercially available sterilised in this way.

Honey may take the sting out of the NHS superbugs

Honey has the power to defeat the hospital superbugs which claim up to 5,000 lives a year, scientists have discovered.

Renowned for thousands of years for its medicinal properties, it is able to kill off mutant bacteria, including MRSA which has defeated all but the strongest antibiotics.

The latest discovery by researchers at the University of Wales in Cardiff comes at a time of growing scientific interest in the substance's healing properties.

Honey contains natural antibacterial agents which experts have discovered can prevent the growth of a number of hospital-acquired wound infections, even at very low concentrations.

Outbreaks of the infections cost the Health Service £1billion a year in extra treatment.

They kill 5,000 British hospital patients a year and are a factor in a further 15,000 deaths.

Honey was revered by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians as a powerful medicinal agent and used to help heal burns and sores.

During World War I, German physicians mixed it with cod liver oil to use as a surgical dressing for battle wounds.

But widespread use of antibiotics to combat infections in the latter part of the last century left it back in the kitchen cupboard.

The latest findings followed laboratory experiments on bacteria gathered from infected wounds and hospital surfaces, including MRSA.

The team at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff found honey attacked the bugs even when it was diluted in another medium. Microbiologist Dr Rose Cooper explained: 'I have found that even at concentrations as low as 3 per cent, honey is able to inhibit the growth of the bacteria.

'It is probable that at higher concentrations the honey would destroy the MRSA. This is very encouraging news and a good start.'

Varieties of honey from Australia and New Zealand have proved most effective. Their high sugar content creates a waterless environment in which the bacteria cannot survive.

The honey is also highly acidic due to the presence of the enzyme glucose oxidase, adding to its antibacterial properties.

Dr Cooper said this enzyme produces a secret weapon - hydrogen peroxide, which was once used as a wound disinfectant in hospitals.

Honey is primarily composed of fructose, glucose and water. It also contains enzymes, vitamins B and C, iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, silica, manganese and potassium.

Dr Cooper said supermarket honey was not suitable for treating wounds.

'The honey we used was irradiated and had not been exposed to high temperatures like pasteurised runny honey you get in the shops,' she said.

'Even honey you might buy in health food shops could contain bacteria spores which you would not want to introduce to wounds.'

Another trial involving 20 patients at Aintree Hospital in Liverpool found dressings soaked in Manuka honey from New Zealand were effective in treating wounds infected with drug-resistant bacteria.

Manuka is made from one of New Zealand's native plants and has long been used in folk medicine. A larger trial has now been ordered.

Harnessing honey's healing power

Honey has been known for its healing properties for thousands of years - the Ancient Greeks used it, and so have many other peoples through the ages.
Even up to the second world war, honey was being used for its antibacterial properties in treating wounds.

But with the advent of penicillin and other antibiotic drugs in the twentieth century, honey's medicinal qualities have taken a back seat.

But that might be about to change - thanks to one New Zealand based researcher.

Working in his Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato, in the central North Island, biochemist Professor Peter Molan has identified one particular type of honey with extraordinary healing qualities.

Professor Molan has shown that honey made from the flowers of the manuka bush, a native of New Zealand, has antibacterial properties over and above those of other honeys.

Mystery ingredient

He said: "In all honeys, there is - to different levels - hydrogen peroxide produced from an enzyme that bees add to the nectar.

"In manuka honey, and its close relative which grows in Australia called jellybush, there's something else besides the hydrogen peroxide.

"And there's nothing like that ever been found anywhere else in the world."

That "something else" has proved very hard to pin down. Even now, after more than twenty years of research, Peter Molan admits he still has no idea exactly what it is.

But he has given it a name: unique manuka factor, or UMF.

And he has found a way to measure its antibacterial efficacy, by comparing UMF manuka honey with a standard antiseptic (carbolic, or phenol) in its ability to fight bacteria. The results are astonishing.

He said: "We know it has a very broad spectrum of action.

"It works on bacteria, fungi, protozoa. We haven't found anything it doesn't work on among infectious organisms."

Resistant strains

In fact, he says UMF manuka honey can even tackle antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria - a growing problem for hospitals around the world.

"Staphylococcus aureas is the most common wound-infecting species of bacteria, and that's the most sensitive to honey that we've found.

"And that includes the antibiotic resistant strains - the MRSA - which is just as sensitive to honey as any other staphylococcus aureas."

Clinical trials at the Waikato Hospital have shown that even out of the lab, UMF manuka honey has amazing healing properties.

Nurse practitioner Julie Betts has successfully used honey to treat leg ulcers and pressure sores. And she says it helps healing after surgery - particularly for diabetic patients.

"It has an anti-inflammatory effect as well, so if I want to do several things apart from actually controlling the bacteria in that wound, then that's when I'll use honey."

Cancer treatment

Cancer specialist Dr Glenys Round has also found honey to be an effective treatment.

"We've been using honey to treat fungating wounds, where the cancer has broken through the skin," she said.

"The results in that situation have been excellent."

Most recently, she has had success in using honey dressings on patients with wounds or ulcers resulting from radiation therapy.

"Most of these patients in the past had tried various other conventional treatments without good success, and that is the reason why at least initially honey was tried."

Most patients seem happy to try the honey treatment.

"They don't have a problem with it at all," said Julie Betts.

"Humans in general have a fondness I think for natural remedies, so they're quite happy to use them."

"I think the problem we encounter is when people don't understand how it works.

"They think that sourcing any honey will achieve the same outcome, and that's not always true."

There’s a buzz about manuka honey

The healing powers of honey have been well known since Pythagoras’ time. We suck honey lozenges to soothe our throats, we stir in a spoonful to sweeten hot drinks when we’re sick. Now, some scientists believe that one particular kind, manuka honey, has antibacterial properties that can be used to treat everything from skin conditions to digestive disorders.
And the buzz about the honey’s healing properties is growing. Once regarded as about as effective as chicken soup, manuka honey is increasingly being used to treat everything from eczema to tummy upsets. Sonia Forde, a Pilates teacher with two children, Maia, 7, and Ruben, 4, became convinced of its healing properties when it cleared up Molluscum contagiosum spots on Ruben’s face. The jelly-like spots are harmless but unsightly and Forde had tried various remedies without success.

Her GP had told her that they would eventually disappear of their own accord, but then she heard about a friend who had successfully treated her son’s Molluscum contagiosum by applying manuka honey. Forde tracked down a high-strength honey in her local health-food shop and began dabbing it on Ruben’s spots every night. “Within a few days they were getting smaller,” she says. “Two weeks later, they had completely cleared up.”

Made by bees that collect pollen from the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium, which grows wild in New Zealand, manuka honey has a slightly medicinal flavour and when applied to skin has been found by some studies to effectively treat wounds and ulcers that have failed to respond to standard medicine.

So strong is its anti-bacterial component, that it has been given its own classification, the unique manuka factor (UMF). Strengths range from UMF5, which is believed to be equivalent to a 5 per cent solution of a standard antiseptic, to UMF20, which is equivalent to a 20 per cent solution of antiseptic. Different strengths are recommended for treating different conditions.

The honey not only fights infection and aids tissue healing but has been found in clinical trials to reduce inflammation and scarring. It has also been used successfully, when taken orally, on digestive problems, from diarrhoea and indigestion to stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis. Its healing properties appear to be due to the presence of the enzyme glucose oxidase, which produces hydrogen peroxide — an antiseptic — and its high sugar concentration, which inhibits bacterial growth. But researchers are unable to pinpoint any one particular constituent to explain why manuka honey has such strong antibacterial qualities.

A study published in the European Journal of Medical Research in 2003 discovered that manuka honey — when compared with conventional treatments for infected postoperative Caesarean sections and hysterectomy wounds — had an 85 per cent success rate compared with 50 per cent for routine treatments.

Before Forde applied the honey to her son’s spots, she had already been giving both her children a daily teaspoon of UMF10 honey to ward off common colds and to treat the occasional bout of constipation: “The beauty of it is that they both love the strong honey taste,” she says. “I used to spread it on toast or give them a teaspoon in the morning. It was easy, unlike taking the herbal remedy echinacea, which I have to bribe them both with sweets to get them to swallow.”

Last year, manuka-honey wound dressings and sterilised manuka-honey creams were licensed for use in NHS hospitals. And scientists at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC), are investigating whether it could help to combat MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant “superbug”. “In the past year, honey has become accepted into conventional medicine,” says Dr Rose Cooper, the head of the University of Wales Institute research team.

“When I embarked on this work eight years ago, it was dismissed as an ancient remedy and an alternative therapy. But there have been cases where MRSA has been eradicated from patients’ wounds which have been treated with the honey.”

Cooper believes that although honey cannot combat MRSA once it has reached the bloodstream, it can stop the initial wound infection spreading within the body, and can also halt the spread of the bug to other patients. And while she acknowledges that more clinical trials are needed, she is cautiously optimistic: “It could be very effective preventatively,” she says. “It could be used as a form of infection control.”

Meanwhile, in the Forde household, even Sonia’s honey-sceptic husband has become a convert: “Initially he thought it was dubious,” she says. “But when he saw Ruben’s spots disappear it made him think that it must have some sort of healing property. Now if he has a cold coming on, I see him having a teaspoon for himself.”

Pollen count

WHAT IS IT? Manuka honey is made by bees that collect pollen from the manuka bush, pictured right, a member of the myrtle family. It can be taken internally — doctors recommend one teaspoonful before food — or applied neat to the skin. Only sterilised honey, intended for medical use, should be used on wounds.

SUITABLE FOR: Manuka honeys below UMF (unique manuka factor) 10 are recommended for maintaining general health and good digestion. UMF10 to UMF15 are for indigestion, heartburn and diarrhoea. They can also be used externally on cuts, grazes, burns, fungal infections and wounds. UMF20 can treat gastroenteritis and stomach ulcers. There are also manuka honey creams for cold sores and acne.

Use of Manuka honey in leg ulceration

The historical and current literature reports the successful use of honey to manage a diversity of wound aetiologies. However, only in the last 40 years is research on its mode of action and contribution to wound healing being investigated. The challenge of managing chronic non healing wounds generated interest in researching non standard therapies. The aims of the study were to gain insight into the practical use of Manuka honey in wound management. The objective was to test the feasibility of further rigorous research into the use of honey in the management of chronic wounds. Instrumental case series were used to examine the use of Manuka honey in eight cases of leg ulceration. To collect the necessary data, photographs, acetate tracings, data monitoring and patient comments and observations were used to add greater reliability and validity to the findings. The wounds were dressed weekly with Manuka honey. The results obtained showed three males and five females with ulceration of different aetiologies were studied. A mean initial wound size for all wounds of 5·62 cm2 was obtained. At the end of four-week treatment period, the mean size was 2·25 cm2. Odour was eliminated and pain reduced. The conclusions drawn were that the use of Manuka honey was associated with a positive wound-healing outcome in these eight cases. Arterial wounds showed minimal improvement only.

Honey helps healing

Honey could be the new antibiotic, according to scientific research from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) presented Monday, 06 September 2004 at the Society for General Microbiology’s 155th Meeting at Trinity College Dublin.

By studying the way bacteria protect themselves from attack by forming slimy clumps, scientists have discovered that honey may be an effective new weapon in breaking up the microbes’ defences. The researchers from the School of Applied Sciences at UWIC looked at the dangerous infections that commonly get into wounds, such as Pseudomonas bacteria.

“If the bacteria can multiply enough to form a slimy mass called a biofilm - the sort of slime you get round a sink plughole for instance - they are much less sensitive to antibiotics and antiseptics,” says Ana Henriques of UWIC. “Doctors looking after badly injured and infected patients urgently need to remove these biofilms so that they can treat their wounds safely, and prevent the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”

The scientists studied six different strains of the bacteria, five of which came from injuries, and grew them in the laboratory to form biofilms, which are notoriously difficult to treat when they appear as hospital infections. Biofilms prevent healing in wounds and may lead to chronic ulcers.

The laboratory grown samples were treated with Manuka honey, then unattached bacteria were washed off and the remaining slime layer studied after different time periods. In every sample the biofilm was disrupted making it more susceptible to the treatment with conventional antibiotics.

“This suggests that simple honey could be a realistic alternative to treatment with antibiotics and antiseptics,” says Ana Henriques. “With the rise in hospital infections from resistant bacteria, we need more effective treatments quickly. Dressings impregnated with Manuka honey became available for prescription earlier this year, and for the first time we have shown that honey is effective against these tough biofilms as well as slowing isolated bacteria.”

The research could have a major impact in developing countries where honey is cheap and readily available, but modern pharmaceuticals are more difficult to obtain. Honey is easy to use and has no known harmful side effects on human health.

Rural District Nurses still remember using honey to treat difficult sores, anecdotal evidence exists of the use of honey in local hospitals in Cardiff in the 1970’s, and folk remedies recommended that warriors should pack battle wounds with honey and lay fresh spiders webs across the top to keep out dirt and help healing. This latest research suggests that honey may not have been such an old wives’ tale.

Antibacterial activity of honey against strains of Staphylococcus aureus from infected wounds.

The antibacterial action of honey in infected wounds does not depend wholly on its high osmolarity. We tested the sensitivity of 58 strains of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus, isolated from infected wounds, to a pasture honey and a manuka honey. There was little variation between the isolates in their sensitivity to honey: minimum inhibitory concentrations were all between 2 and 3% (v/v) for the manuka honey and between 3 and 4% for the pasture honey. Thus, these honeys would prevent growth of S. aureus if diluted by body fluids a further seven-fold to fourteen-fold beyond the point where their osmolarity ceased to be completely inhibitory. The antibacterial action of the pasture honey relied on release of hydrogen peroxide, which in vivo might be reduced by catalase activity in tissues or blood. The action of manuka honey stems partly from a phytochemical component, so this type of honey might be more effective in vivo. Comparative clinical trials with standardized honeys are needed.

After decades of turning up their noses at this ancient wound dressing, modern doctors are turning sweet on honey.

Peter Molan, Ph.D., likes to tell the story of the 20-year-old wound. Infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, an abscess oozed in an English woman's armpit long after it had been drained. Nothing seemed to help, and the pain prevented her from working.

Then in August of 1999, she read about the remarkable wound-healing properties of honey. She convinced doctors to apply some to the dressing to her arm, and a month later the wound healed. Now she's back at work.

Novel as this treatment sounds, it would have inspired yawns among doctors in ancient Egypt, according to May Berenbaum, Ph.D., a University of Illinois entomologist. "Honey has been used for centuries to treat a wide range of medical problems like wounds, burns, cataracts, skin ulcers and scrapes," she says. "And now various researchers worldwide are also studying -- and finding -- strong antimicrobial properties in some honeys."

Honey fell from favor as a wound dressing when antibiotic dressings were developed during World War II. But the new research -- and the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria -- are putting this old-time folk remedy into the contemporary medicine chest.

Last year, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration -- the equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- approved honey as a medicine. A company in Australia this year began marketing medical honey as a wound dressing in pharmacies there. It's available in the United States through the Internet.

Honey helps wounds in several ways, says Molan. Its thickness provides a protective barrier. The hydrogen peroxide it contains is released slowly, killing germs in the wound. Some as-yet-unknown ingredients reduce inflammation, while others, perhaps amino acids and vitamin C, speed the growth of healthy tissue. Honey even makes wounds smell better, possibly because when bacteria in wounds eat honey's sugars, they give off sweeter-smelling gases.

Dozens of studies, in animals and humans, have documented such benefits. One of the most convincing reports, published in the 1998 issue of the journal Burns, tells how researchers from the Dr. V. M. Medical College in Maharashtra, India, compared honey with silver sulfadiazine, the standard treatment for superficial burns.

The researchers first smeared honey on gauze and used it to dress the burns of 52 patients. Another 52 patients got the same treatment but with silver sulfadiazine in place of the honey.

In the 52 patients treated with honey, 87% healed within 15 days, compared with 10% of those treated with silver sulfadiazine. The honey-treated patients also experienced less pain, leaking of wound fluid, and scarring.

Molan, a biochemist at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, and other researchers have found special bacteria-killing properties in honey made from the nectar of the tea tree (Leptospermum). In laboratory experiments, reported in the November 1992 Journal of Applied Bacteriology, Molan and his colleagues found that it was particularly effective in slaying staphylococcus aureus.

This so-called "Golden Staph" -- which infested the English woman's 20-year-old wound -- sometimes survives the most potent antibiotics, killing its victims. "Manuka honey has worked in very desperate cases where nothing else has worked," says Molan.

Based on the research of Molan and others, an Australian company is now marketing Manuka honey under the name Medihoney. To make it, beekeepers set their hives close to tea trees so the bees will gather their nectar.

Studies so far have found no side effects other than an occasional slight burning sensation when the honey is applied. Though honey sometimes contains the spores of bacteria that cause botulism, Molan says there have been no reported cases of this bacteria or anything else in honey infecting a wound.

Experts do caution that infants should not eat honey because of the botulism risk. "But it's still OK to use honey on children's (and infants') burns or scrapes," says Molan.

Molan also believes it is safe to use ordinary supermarket honey on such minor wounds. And it's a lot cheaper than antibiotic ointments. But since ingredients vary depending on the nectar from which the honey is made, Medihoney offers the advantage of laboratory testing.

It's one medicine that doesn't need a spoonful of sugar to help it go down.

Charles Downey is a journalist, magazine writer, and content provider who frequently writes about medicine and early childhood development for the New York Times Syndicate. He has also written for Reader's Digest, Playboy, McCall's, Woman's Day, Boys' Life, and many other publications on four continents.

Easy Honey Uses

Antibacterial: Apply honey to cuts, scrapes, or burns and cover with a clean bandage. Change dressings one to three times daily, as needed. Note: excessive hear or prolonged exposure to light can rob honey of its antibacterial properties. Always store in a dark, cool place.

Disinfectant: Take several tablespoons of honey daily for internal disinfection.

Nursing salve: Nursing mothers, try covering cracked, sore nipples with honey-soaked gauze to prevent infection.

Sore throats: Many opera singers and honey to a glass of warm milk and sip slowly. This helps soothe the throat.

Insomnia: Mix a half glass of warm water with 2 tablespoons of honey and the juice of a lemon and an orange. The darker the honey, the better this works.

Honey pick-me-up: Combine 2 tablespoons honey, 2 teaspoons pollen, a teaspoon of ginseng, and dried orange peel. Take with a spoon. Asian healers believe that this creates a feeling of total rejuvenation.

Diarrhea: In 8 ounces of water, mix 4 large tablespoons of honey. This works well for bacterial diarrhea. Those with diabetes should be cautious about taking so much honey at one time.

Dieting: Honey's double action (providing instant energy boost, while maintaining sugar levels for a long time), satisfies the hunger for sweets and may keep you feeling fuller longer. For some dieters, this may be good news.

Honey and Babies

The National Honey Board warns that honey may contain spores that can cause infant botulism in children aged one year and younger. Adults and older children are routinely exposed to botulism spores in dust, soil, honey, and other uncooked foods, but are almost never affected by them. In immature infants' digestive tracts, however, the spores are able to germinate and release a toxin. Symptoms of infant botulism include constipation, lethargy, poor feeding, weak cry, droopy eyelids, and, occasionally, respiratory arrest. By the age of 12 months, infants develop a digestive tract mature enough to handle the toxin.

Healing with Honey

Spring brings a picture-perfect day. You're enjoying yourself on a well-deserved vacation. Then you fall, a victim of loose gravel. Your leg is a mess. At the local hospital, you're given a cream to apply two times a day to keep infection at bay. Returning home after a week of pain and aches, your leg isn't healing as it should. A call to the local herbalist or homeopath and it's suggested that you apply honey to the wound. That's too simple. "How can honey do anything to help this?" you ask. The reply, "Honey not only can heal, it will improve your overall health."

Sweeteners come in many forms, but none as sweet as honey. Honey remains the one confection offering life-giving qualities not found in any other sweetener. Sugar has more calories. Artificial sweeteners can ultimately do more harm than good. But honey is a natural choice, even for diabetics (in moderation). The bear in the woods knew what he was doing when he fought the bees to get to his favorite sweet stuff.

Native Americans learned from the animals around them. As they watched a bear walk through swarms of bees, pulled like a magnet to the hive despite being stung many times over, they had to observe the pain the animal endured to get the sticky stuff. When they finally got their own hands on honey, they discovered that it not only tasted great, but it healed their bee stings and other cuts, too. The women used it on their faces. Taken for colds, it soothed sore throats. Given to children in the evening, honey was found to keep many an animal skin dry by morning.

Modern creams and antibiotics may help heal, but they often have the disadvantage of killing tissue and causing scabs and scars. But not all of us think to put honey under that Band-Aid or bandage. Results of a three year clinical trial at the University Teaching Hospital in Calabar, Nigeria, showed that unprocessed honey can heal wounds when more modern dressings and antibiotic treatments fail. In 59 patients treated for wounds and external ulcers, honey was effective in all but one case. Topical applications kept sterile wounds sterile until they had time to heal, while infected wounds became sterile within a week. Honey was also shown to remove dead tissue from persistent wounds, helping some patients avoid skin grafts or amputations.

"Honey provides a moist healing environment yet prevents bacterial growth even when wounds are heavily infected," notes Dr. Peter Molan of the Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. "It is a very effective means of quickly rendering heavily infected wounds sterile, without the side effects of antibiotics, and it is even effective against antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria."

What gives honey its healing capacity? A combination, it seems, of several factors: Honey's acidity, or pH, is low enough to hinder or prevent the growth of many species of bacteria, although this acidity may be neutralized as honey is diluted, with, for example, body fluids from a cut or wound. Then there's honey's osmolarity, or to absorb water from a wound which deprives bacteria of the moisture they need to thrive Hydrogen peroxide plays another big part. When honey is diluted (again, say, with fluids from a wound) an enzyme is activated to produce hydrogen peroxide, which, as we know, is a potent antibacterial (who doesn't have a brown bottle of this stuff in their medicine cabinet?). Honey has also been shown to reduce the inflammation and soothe the pain of deep wounds and burns. And honey dressings won't stick to wounds, since what ends up in contact with the affected area is a solution of honey and fluid that can be easily lifted off or rinsed away. That means no pain when changing dressings, notes Molan, and no tearing away of newly formed tissue.

"Honey is an ideal first-aid dressing material," he adds, "especially for patients in remote locations, where there could be time for infection to set in before medical treatment is obtained. It is readily available and simple to use."

But honey's healing powers reach beyond wounds and bums. There's also evidence (some scientific, much anecdotal) to suggest that the antibacterial powers of certain honeys, in particular New Zealand's manuka honey, may be effective against the Helicobacter pylori bacteria, the main culprit in many stomach ulcers. Doctors have yet to prove this, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to give it a try in the meantime. Beginning and ending your day with a tablespoon of honey on a piece of toast may just calm the fire in your belly.

Some not-so-scientific research has also found that honey can speed alcohol metabolism to sober a person up. The high fructose content may help to relieve that morning-after hangover and the tired feeling that goes along with it. "Honey does not have to be digested before it is absorbed," notes Dr. Susan Percival of the University of Florida's Food Science and Human Nutrition Department. "It is already the two simple sugars, fructose and glucose." Which means, explains Percival, that the sugars from honey go directly to the bloodstream and can provide a quick boost when needed. Regular table sugar, on the other hand, is a disaccharide, which must be cleaved in two before digestion.

Along with fructose, honey enzymes enhance the digestive process to relieve indigestion. Daily use of honey creates heat and energy, wards off fatigue, and aids recuperative power.

Eating locally produced honey may also help to minimize the symptoms of hay fever and related pollen allergies, which leave so many of us sniffling and sneezing at this time of the year. John Heinerman, a noted medical anthropologist and author of Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Healing Herbs and Spices (Prentice Hall, 1996), notes that the best course of treatment is to take one tablespoonful of local honey after each meal, beginning a month before pollen season starts. He also recommends chewing some of the comb between meals. Being a hay fever sufferer himself, Heinerman says, "Although [honey and honey comb] have never actually cured my hay fever as such, I can testify that they have reduced the misery and aggravation of watery eyes and runny nose by at least 80% during the allergy season."

Plagued by worrisome wrinkles? Honey softens and moisturizes for a healthy complexion. Beekeepers' hands are often noted as being soft and smooth during honey season. To take advantage of honey's skin-softening potential, splash warm water on your face to open the pores. Then apply a thin honey mask, wash it off, and finish with a bit of cold water to the face. Dry skin cells plump up and wrinkles tend to smooth away. Dairy cream, whipped egg white, fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or any fruit juice may be mixed into your honey mask.

Add to all of the above the fact that honey is just plain good for you. It's chock-full of nutrients, albeit at low levels. Honey is an excellent source of potassium. It also contains thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, and ascorbic acid, not to mention calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, and sodium, too. "Table sugar has no nutrients or antioxidants at all," notes Percival. "So using honey as a sweetening agent has its advantages."

Darker honeys contain higher amounts of minerals than lighter honeys. Enzymes also do their part to make honey far more nutritionally complex than other sweeteners. With so much going for honey, isn't a teaspoonful on your breakfast toast or Band-Aid a simple solution to healing wounds inside and out?

Honey was proven to be healing for humans as was mentioned in the Noble Quran

The bee assimilates juices of various kinds of flowers and fruit and forms within its body the honey, which it stores in its cells of wax. Only a couple of centuries ago man came to know that honey comes from the belly of the bee. This fact was mentioned in the QUR'AN 1,400 years ago in the following verse:


"And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations; There issues From within their bodies A drink of varying colours, Wherein is healing for men."

[AL-QUR'AN 16:68-69]


We are now aware that honey has a healing property and also a mild antiseptic property. The Russians used honey to cover their wounds in World War II. The wound would retain moisture and would leave very little scar tissue. Due to the density of honey, no fungus or bacteria would grow in the wound. A person suffering from an allergy of a particular plant may be given honey from that plant so that the person develops resistance to that allergy. Honey is rich in fructose and vitamin K. Thus the knowledge contained in the QUR'AN regarding honey, its origin and properties, was far ahead of the time it was revealed.

Honey and Oral Health

Honey is known to possess a variety of antioxidants and antibacterial substances that have been shown to inhibit growth of a wide range of bacteria and fungi. The antimicrobial properties of honey may render it beneficial in the treatment of various oral ailments including periodontal disease and mouth ulcers.

I study was done on select honeys to demonstrate antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens. The purpose of this study was to characterize the antioxidant content of honey from 10 different floral sources (sage, orange, tupelo, manuka, buckwheat, acacia, fireweed, clover, Hawaiian Christmasberry, and soy) and determine their effects on growth of selected oral pathogens (e.g., Steptococcus mutans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum). Antioxidant capacity of the honeys was determined via the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. Specific antioxidant components including phenolics and ascorbate were determined via HPLC analysis. ORAC values ranged from 3 -17 mmol Trolox equivalent/g honey. A linear correlation was observed between total phenolic content and ORAC activity (R2= 0.9352). Antioxidant capacity of the honeys appeared to be due primarily to their phenolic composition as opposed to enzymatic antioxidants and ascorbic acid. Although all 10 honeys were not effective at inhibiting growth of S. mutans, selected components of honeys were active when tested individually (MIC values: 31.225 ?g/ml, abscisic acid; 1 mg/ml, coumaric acid and vanillic acid). Kaempferol was active against both S. mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis. These results suggest that honeys from different floral sources may exhibit varied antimicrobial activities.

Manuka honey may aid in the treatment of gingivitis. Studies have already shown that manuka honey with a high antibacterial activity is likely to be non-cariogenic. The current pilot study sought to determine if manuka honey with an antibacterial activity rated UMF 15 could be used to reduce dental plaque and clinical levels of gingivitis. A chewable manuka "honey leather" (similar to a stick of chewing gum) was produced for this pilot study. Thirty subjects were randomly provided the manuka honey product or sugarless chewing gum to chew or suck for 10 minutes, three times a day, after each meal. Plaque and gingival bleeding scores were recorded before and after the 21-day trial period. Those receiving the manuka honey product showed significant reductions in mean plaque scores (p=0.001) and the percentage of bleeding sites (p=0.001) while those receiving the chewing gum showed no significant changes in either plaque or gingival bleeding scores. These results suggest that there may be a potential therapeutic role for manuka honey confectionery in the treatment of gingivitis and periodontal disease.

Honey has been used as a medicine since ancient times. Because of it’s antimicrobial properties, honey has the potential to combat oral pathogens and holds promise for the treatment of periodontal disease, mouth ulcers, and other diseases of the oral cavity. This review article describes the general therapeutic features of honey, examines the specific use of honey for oral health, and addresses the concern of potential cariogeneity of honey.

New Zealand honey being tested on cancer patients

Over the years, honey has become increasingly popular for its medicinal properties. The Ancient Egyptians thought of the substance as a cure-all, and now the Christie Hospital in Didsbury, Manchester, UK is studying the effects of New Zealand Manuka honey on mouth and throat cancer patients.
The Manchester Royal Infirmary, which has been using the Manuka honey since May, have had success using it on special honey-coated surgical dressings that can help fight antibiotic-resistant infections.

The Christie Hospital staff has been buying the $22-a-jar honey in bulk. They have bought more than 880 pounds thus far. They hope that the honey, produced by bees that mainly feed on the nectar of the New Zealand Manuka bush, will help reduce the patients' inflammation and shrink their chances of contracting Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSRA), a common and penicillin-resistant infection. Sixty of the cancer patients at Christie have volunteered to have the honey used in their treatment.

"This study has been generously funded by local people and patients - and we are extremely grateful to them," said Dr. Nick Slevin, the specialist leading the program. "Manuka honey has special anti-inflammatory and anti-infection properties and is believed to reduce the likelihood of MRSA infection."

Honey helps problem wounds

A household remedy millennia old is being reinstated: honey helps the treatment of some wounds better than the most modern antibiotics. For several years now medical experts from the University of Bonn have been clocking up largely positive experience with what is known as medihoney. Even chronic wounds infected with multi-resistant bacteria often healed within a few weeks. In conjunction with colleagues from Düsseldorf, Homburg and Berlin they now want to test the experience gained in a large-scale study, as objective data on the curative properties of honey are thin on the ground.
The fact that honey can help wounds to heal is something that was known to the Ancient Egyptians several thousand years ago. And in the last two world wars poultices with honey were used to assist the healing process in soldiers' wounds. However, the rise of the new antibiotics replaced this household remedy. 'In hospitals today we are faced with germs which are resistant to almost all the current anti-biotics,' Dr. Arne Simon explains. 'As a result, the medical use of honey is becoming attractive again for the treatment of wounds.'

Dr. Simon works on the cancer ward of the Bonn University Children's Clinic. As far as the treatment of wounds is concerned, his young patients form part of a high-risk group: the medication used to treat cancer known as cytostatics not only slows down the reproduction of malignant cells, but also impairs the healing process of wounds. 'Normally a skin injury heals in a week, with our children it often takes a month or more,' he says. Moreover, children with leukaemia have a weakened immune system. If a germ enters their bloodstream via a wound, the result may be a fatal case of blood poisoning.

For several years now Bonn paediatricians have been pioneering the use in Germany of medihoney in treating wounds. Medihoney bears the CE seal for medical products; its quality is regularly tested. The success is astonishing: 'Dead tissue is rejected faster, and the wounds heals more rapidly,' Kai Sofka, wound specialist at the University Children's Clinic, emphasises. 'What is more, changing dressings is less painful, since the poultices are easier to remove without damaging the newly formed layers of skin.' Some wounds often smell unpleasant – an enormous strain on the patient. Yet honey helps here too by reducing the smell. 'Even wounds which consistently refused to heal for years can, in our experience, be brought under control with medihoney – and this frequently happens within a few weeks,' Kai Sofka says.

In the meantime two dozen hospitals in Germany are using honey in their treatment of wounds. Despite all the success there have hitherto been very few reliable clinical studies of its effectiveness. In conjunction with colleagues from Düsseldorf, Homburg and Berlin, the Bonn medical staff now want to remedy this. With the Woundpecker Data Bank, which they have developed themselves, they will be recording and evalu-ating over 100 courses of disease over the next few months. The next step planned is comparative studies with other therapeutic methods such as the very expensive cationic silver dressings. 'These too are an effective anti-bacterial method,' says Dr. Arne Simon. 'However, it is not yet clear whether the silver released from some dressings may lead to side-effects among children.' Effective bacteria killer

It has already been proved that medihoney even puts paid to multi-resistant germs such as MRSA. In this respect medihoney is neck and neck in the race to beat the antibiotic mupirocin, currently the local MRSA antibiotic of choice. This is shown by a study recently published by researchers in Australia. In one point medihoney was even superior to its rival: the bacteria did not develop any resistance to the natural product during the course of treatment.

It is also known today why honey has an antiseptic effect: when producing honey, bees add an enzyme called glucose-oxidase. This enzyme ensures that small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, an effective antiseptic, are constantly being formed from the sugar in the honey. The advantage over the hydrogen peroxide from the chemist's is that small concentrations are sufficient to kill the germs, as it is constantly being produced. As a rule much larger quantities of hydrogen peroxide would have to be used, as hydrogen peroxide loses its potency over time. However, in large concentrations it not only damages the bacteria, but also the skin cells.

Furthermore, medihoney consists of two different types of honey: one which forms a comparatively large amount of hydrogen peroxide, and another known as 'lepto-spermum honey'. Leptospermum is a species of tree which occurs in New Zealand and Australia. Honey from these trees has a particularly strong anti-bacterial effect, even in a 10% dilution. 'It is not yet known exactly why this is,' Dr. Arne Simon says. 'Probably it is a mix of phenol-type substances which come from the plant and make life particularly difficult for the bacteria in the wound.'

The healing power of honey: From burns to weak bones, raw honey can help

Raw honey – which has not been pasteurized or filtered, and ideally taken directly from the hive – is a treasure chest of nutritional value and medicinal remedies. It contains an abundance of vitamins and minerals and is a natural and powerful medicine, both internally and externally.

The list of honey's beneficial functions is a long one. Honey increases calcium absorption; can increase hemoglobin count and treat or prevent anemia caused by nutritional factors; can help arthritic joints, when combined with apple cider vinegar; fights colds and respiratory infections of all kinds; can help to boost gastrointestinal ulcer healing; works as a natural and gentle laxative; aids constipation, allergies and obesity; provides an array of vitamins and minerals; and supplies instant energy without the insulin surge caused by white sugar. Many have found raw honey helpful for its positive effects against allergies and hay fever, and one or two teaspoons last thing at night can help with insomnia. As an antiseptic, honey is also a drawing agent for poisons from bites or stings or infected wounds, and has outperformed antibiotics in treatments for stomach ulcerations, gangrene, surgical wound infections, surgical incisions and the protection of skin grafts, corneas, blood vessels and bones during storage and shipment.

"Raw honey is exceptionally effective internally against bacteria and parasites. Plus, raw honey contains natural antibiotics, which help kill microbes directly. Raw honey, when applied topically, speeds the healing of tissues damaged by infection and/or trauma. It contains vitamins, minerals and enzymes, as well as sugars, all of which aid in the healing of wounds."

So writes Dr. Cass Igram, D.O. in The Survivor's Nutritional Pharmacy. In a fascinating modern development, scientists and doctors are beginning to rediscover the effectiveness of honey as a wound treatment. In recent years, honey has been used effectively in clinical settings for the treatment of fist-sized ulcers extending to the bone, as well as for first, second and third degree burns. Complete healing has been reported without the need for skin grafts and with no infection or muscle loss. It can be applied full strength to such conditions, covered with a sterile bandage, and changed daily. When the wounds are clean, honey acts as a healer. This also is the same procedure for infected wounds, ulcerations and impetigo. Garlic honey can also be applied directly to infected wounds, which will help clean up the area of infection.

Dr. Peter Molan, professor of biochemistry at Waikato University, New Zealand, has been at the forefront of honey research for 20 years. He heads the university's Honey Research Unit, which is internationally recognized for its expertise in the antimicrobial properties of honey. Clinical observations and experimental studies have established that honey has effective antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Astonishingly, it painlessly removes pus, scabs and dead tissue from wounds and stimulates new tissue growth. "Randomized trials have shown that honey is more effective in controlling infection in burn wounds than silver sulfadiazine, the antibacterial ointment most widely used on burns in hospitals," explains Dr. Molan.

Dr. Molan believes that if honey were used from the start in cases of septicemia, there would be far less tissue damage resulting. "The remarkable ability of honey to reduce inflammation and mop up free radicals should halt the progress of the skin damage like it does in burns, as well as protecting from infection setting in", says Dr. Molan. "At present, people are turning to honey when nothing else works. But there are very good grounds for using honey as a therapeutic agent of first choice."

Researchers believe that the therapeutic potential of honey is grossly underutilized. With increasing interest in the use of alternative therapies and as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria spreads, honey may finally receive its due recognition as a wound healer.

Indeed, it works: Raw honey makes a sterile, painless and effective wound dressing. Apply it directly to open cuts, abrasions and burns, and cover it with a piece of gauze. The results will occur quicker than with conventional alternatives, such as salves and creams.

Honey is also exceptionally effective for respiratory ailments. One Bulgarian study of almost 18,000 patients found that it improved chronic bronchitis, asthmatic bronchitis, chronic and allergic rhinitis and sinusitis. It's an effective treatment for colds, flu, respiratory infections and a generally depressed immune system. Whereas sugar shuts down the immune system, a good quality honey will stimulate it into action.

Here are some more ways to utilize the healing power of honey:

BURNS - Apply freely over burns. It cools, removes pain and aids fast healing without scarring. Apart from being a salve and an antibiotic, bacteria simply cannot survive in honey.

BED WETTING - A teaspoon of honey before bed aids water retention and calms fears in children.

INSOMNIA - A dessertspoon of honey in a mug of warm milk aids sleep and works wonders.

HYPERACTIVITY - Replace all use of white sugar with honey. White sugar is highly stimulating with no food qualities. Honey provides the energy without the "spike."

NASAL CONGESTION - Place a dessertspoon of honey in a basin of water and inhale fumes after covering your head with a towel over the basin. Very effective!

FATIGUE - Dissolve a dessertspoon of honey in warm water or quarter honey balance of water in a jug and keep in the fridge. Honey is primarily fructose and glucose, so it's quickly absorbed by the digestive system. Honey is a unique natural stabilizer: Ancient Greek athletes took honey for stamina before competing and as a reviver after competition.

FACIAL DEEP CLEANSER - Mix honey with an equal quantity of oatmeal, and apply as a face pack. Leave on for half an hour, then wash it off. Great as a deep cleanser for acne and other unwanted blemishes.

POOR DIGESTION - Mix honey with an equal quantity of apple cider vinegar and dilute to taste with water. This is also wonderful for the joints – and promotes weight loss.

HAIR CONDITIONER - Mix honey with an equal quantity of olive oil, cover head with a warm tower for half an hour then shampoo off. Feeds hair and scalp. Your hair will never look or feel better!

SORE THROATS - Let a teaspoon of honey melt in the back of the mouth and trickle down the throat. Eases inflamed raw tissues.

FOR STRESS - Honey in water is a stabilizer, calming highs and raising lows. Use approximately 25 percent honey to water.

ANEMIA - Honey is the best blood enricher by raising corpuscle content. The darker the honey, the more minerals it contains.

FOOD PRESERVATIVE – If you replace the sugar in cake and cookie recipes with honey, they'll stay fresher longer due to honey's natural antibacterial properties. Reduce liquids in the mixture by about one-fifth to allow for the moisture present in the in honey.

BABY'S BOTTLE - Four teaspoons of honey to a baby's bottle of water is an excellent pacifier and multivitamin additive. If the baby's motions are too liquid, then reduce the honey by half a teaspoon; if too solid increase by half a teaspoon. (Caution: Don't give raw honey to babies under 1 year old; it's just too rich.) For teething, honey rubbed on a baby's gums is also a mild sedative and anesthetic.

OSTEOPOROSIS – Research has shown that a teaspoon of honey per day aids calcium utilization and prevents osteoporosis – probably not a bad idea for anyone over 50.

LONGEVITY - The most long-lived people in the world are all regular users of honey. An interesting fact, yet to be explained, is that beekeepers suffer less from cancer and arthritis than any other occupational group worldwide.

MIGRAINE - Use a dessertspoon of honey dissolved in half a glass of warm water. Sip at the start of a migraine attack, and, if necessary, repeat after another 20 minutes.

CONJUNCTIVITIS - Dissolve honey in an equal quantity of warm water. When cooled, apply as a lotion or eye bath.

COUGH MIXTURE – Combine 6 ounces (170 grams) liquid honey, 2 ounces (55 grams) glycerin and the juice of two lemons. Mix well. Bottle and cork firmly, and use as required.

Raw honey may become granulated, as some does after a week and another maybe only after several years. If the granulations bother you, simply place the honey into a pan of hot water (not boiling) and let it stand until becoming liquid again.

Honey is an effective treatment for leg ulcers

Leg ulcers are a major problem for many elderly people, but a new study hopes to confirm that manuka honey, which is readily available in most Kiwi homes is an effective treatment. A team of researchers, led by Andrew Jull, a research fellow at The University of Auckland's Clinical Trials Research Unit in the School of Population Health, is conducting the study with funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

With 400 patients involved, it will be the largest clinical trial of manuka honey for wound care ever funded, and one of the largest leg ulcer trials in the world.

Compression bandaging is the mainstay of treatment for most leg ulcers and the trial aims to determine whether a manuka honey dressing (plus compression bandaging) is more effective at healing leg ulcers compared to usual care (plus compression bandaging) at 12 weeks.

While the use of honey for healing is not uncommon, Mr Jull says there is little solid evidence on the effect of honey on ulcer healing.

"Some research in burns does suggest that honey speeds up healing. However, the effect of honey remains unproven as a treatment for leg ulcers.

"A randomised controlled trial will provide the best evidence about whether honey aids healing," says Mr Jull.

The Clinical Trials Research Unit, in The University of Auckland's School of Population Health, is spearheading the project which includes researchers from The University of Auckland, the University of Waikato and four district health boards.

Manuka Honey and Cancer

A cancer hospital in Manchester, England is importing Manuka honey from New Zealand to treat patients following surgery for mouth and throat cancers. Dr. Nick Slevin, the specialist leading the program at Christie Hospital in Didsbury, Manchester, says Manuka honey has special anti-inflammatory and anti-infection properties and is believed to reduce the likelihood of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infection.

The Manchester Royal Infirmary has been using special honey-coated dressings since May and 60 patients at the hospital are taking part in a study to see if the honey can prevent infections which can be resistant to antibiotics.

The honey is produced by bees which mainly feed on the Manuka bush and the hospital is buying it in bulk.

The practice is not new as honey has been used as a medicine since the Ancient Egyptians, who regarded it as a cure for just about everything.

Honey as Medicine

When I get a sore throat, I always find a cup of tea with some honey very soothing. But thanks to my proper Western scientific conditioning, I always assumed that the restorative power of honey was mostly in my head. Sure, it tastes good and has a pleasant texture that coats my irritated throat, but it’s practically pure sugar, after all. What good could it possibly do me other than diminishing my perception of discomfort for a few minutes? So I’ve been content in my belief that honey is little more than a tasty placebo. Now, ironically enough, my convictions are being challenged, as researchers are turning up new evidence of honey’s medical benefits left and right.

Historically, honey has been used as a folk remedy in cultures around the world for millennia. It has been prescribed informally as a cure for smallpox, baldness, eye diseases, and indigestion. It’s even been used as a contraceptive. As with most natural “cures” unsupported by scientific studies, I sort of chuckle and sigh when I read about things like this—honey may be a silly substitute for real medicine, but at least it’s not bloodletting. However, in this case, the bees may have the last laugh. It turns out that honey’s properties make it a surprisingly effective cure-all. Or, let’s say, cure-much.

Honey’s salutary effects stem primarily from its antimicrobial properties. Most bacteria and other microorganisms cannot grow or reproduce in honey. I found this quite surprising, because all things being equal, bacteria love sugar. Honey contains around 40% fructose and 30% glucose—among other sugars—making it seemingly a great treat for microbes. However, honey is also somewhat acidic, and acids prevent the growth of some bacteria. More importantly, honey does not provide the water and oxygen needed to support bacterial growth. Although honey contains a fair amount of water, it’s supersaturated with sugar—meaning the water is not available to the microorganisms.

So what happens when you dilute honey with water—the bacteria just multiply like crazy, right? Well…yes and no. Amazingly enough, diluted honey supports the growth of bacteria that are helpful to humans while killing off dangerous strains. Some microorganisms do indeed flourish in a dilute solution of honey—such as the yeast used to ferment it into mead. Also, certain types of beneficial bacteria that live in the human intestines and aid digestion do well in a mixture of honey and water. But honey also contains a substance called glucose oxidase. When combined with water and oxygen, glucose oxidase forms gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide—the very same stuff you probably have in your medicine cabinet right now. This means that diluted honey can serve as an excellent antiseptic, while being far less likely than ordinary hydrogen peroxide to harm already-damaged tissue.

What does all this mean in practical terms? For one thing, it means that honey applied topically to a wound can promote healing just as well as, or in many cases better than, conventional ointments and dressings. Its antibacterial properties prevent infection. It also functions as an anti-inflammatory agent, reducing both swelling and pain. As if that weren’t enough, it even reduces scarring. In studies around the world, honey has been shown to be extraordinarily effective in the treatment of wounds, burns, and surgical incisions. Honey also functions as a moisturizer, making it a useful treatment for sunburn as well as a general-purpose skin softener.

But wait, there’s more! Honey is truly a head-to-toe cure. Honey has been shown to be effective in treating inflammation of the eyelid, some types of conjunctivitis, and keratitis (along with other forms of corneal damage). It can also, believe it or not, be used to treat athlete’s foot and other fungal infections.

Lest you think that honey is only healthy if used on the outside of the body, it can help with a great many internal problems too. Thanks to its antimicrobial action, it not only soothes sore throats but can also kill the bacteria that sometimes cause them. Although research is inconclusive so far, there’s also the suggestion it could actually reduce tooth decay—all that sticky sugar notwithstanding. Moving down the esophagus and through the digestive tract, honey can help to heal ulcers and upset stomachs. It has also been proven to regulate intestinal function, alleviating both constipation and diarrhea. (In a similarly syzygial way, honey can be used both as a sleep aid and to increase alertness.) Honey also contains a variety of antioxidants, which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Manuka honey, made from the flowers of the Manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium), comes from New Zealand. Some varieties of Manuka honey contain an antibacterial component called UMF (Unique Manuka Factor), which has been found to be even more useful than ordinary honey in combating infections. Intriguingly, honey with UMF is even effective against many so-called “superbugs”—strains of bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus that are resistant to multiple types of antibiotics. An Australian company called Medihoney has obtained the blessing of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (comparable to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) to sell this type of honey packaged as a dressing for wounds. The company also sells honey and honey-based products designed to treat digestive problems, oral irritations and sore throats, and even skin conditions such as psoriasis.

Now that you’ve worked yourself into a gleeful frenzy over the miraculous properties of honey, I want to temper your enthusiasm a bit. The bad news, if you can call it that, is that not all honey is created equal. The chemical composition of honey depends on a huge number of variables, the most important of which is the type or types of plant that provided the source nectar. Honeys vary not only in color and flavor, but in their medicinal properties, with some varieties being much more potent than others. Because it’s impossible to regulate the comings and goings of millions of bees, there’s also no way to guarantee that honey from any location will be chemically the same from year to year or free of contamination from pollutants the bees may have found their way into. Honey supplies must be tested thoroughly and regularly.

I should mention one other caveat: never feed honey to a child under one year of age. Honey sometimes contains Clostridium botulinum spores. Although they’re inactive in the honey itself, once inside a digestive tract they can multiply and cause a potentially fatal disease of the nervous system called infant botulism. By the time of a child’s first birthday, there are usually enough beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract to make it an inhospitable environment for Clostridium botulinum, meaning that honey can be eaten safely.

As I was reflecting on all the health benefits of honey, it suddenly occurred to me: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sick bee. Coincidence? Probably. But honey may be one miracle cure that lives up to the buzz.

Tasty Medicine From New Zealand

Modern science is often very slow to recognize the ancient, tried and true wisdom from the ages. More often than not, science has scoffed at the folk remedies and communal healing practices of different cultures, only to be proven wrong later on. Fortunately, the situation is slowly changing.

Honey, among other herbal and natural remedies, is finally gaining international, scientific recognition and attention as a wonderful food and medicine. Besides tasting great, and having a sublime consistency, honey is very good for our bodies. Honey has been used medicinally in India, the Middle East, and Africa for thousands of years. In particular, a specific type of honey, Manuka honey, from New Zealand is quickly gaining ground as the ideal type of honey to carry in a first aid kit, and to keep in the kitchen cupboard. Here's why:

For the past 19 years, honey researchers at the University of Waikato have been investigating what many local New Zealanders have accepted as common wisdom for centuries: local Manuka honey is a superior treatment for wound infections. Manuka honey is gathered and made in New Zealand, by bees, from the flowers of the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium, which grows uncultivated throughout the country.

The clinical observations recorded are that infection is rapidly cleared, inflammation, swelling and pain are quickly reduced, and healing occurs rapidly with minimal scarring. The antimicrobial properties of honey prevent microbial growth in the moist healing environment created, and unlike other topical antiseptics, honey causes no tissue damage. Another benefit of using honey as a dressing for wounds is that the honey on the wound surface prevents the dressing from sticking, so there is no pain or tissue damage when dressings are changed.

The Honey Research Unit in New Zealand offers us many amazing facts and figures about manuka honey. The Honey Research Unit was set up in 1995, with financial support from the New Zealand Honey Industry Trust, in recognition of the University of Waikato's expertise in the study of the antimicrobial activity of honey. Most of the research and information regarding Manuka honey comes in thanks to Dr. Peter Molan of the Honey Research Unit. A debt of gratitude for his work is acknowledged here.

Honey has antibacterial qualities, due primarily to hydrogen peroxide formed in a "slow-release" manner by the enzyme glucose oxidase present in honey. The potency of this antibacterial quality varies considerably depending on the type of honey. Some honeys are no more antibacterial than sugar, while others can be diluted more than 100-fold and still halt the growth of bacteria.

"Active Manuka honey" is the only honey available for sale that is tested for its antibacterial activity. It contains an additional antibacterial component found only in honey produced from Leptospermum plants: what has been called the "Unique Manuka Factor" (UMF). There is evidence that the two antibacterial components may have a synergistic action.

Internally, Active Manuka Honey stimulates the immune system and helps the body deal with infections. Research has shown that Active Manuka Honey also promotes the rehydration of the body, causing the earlier clearing of diarrhea, vomiting and stomach upsets. Active Manuka Honey is also effective in killing the Helicobacter pylori bug, which is present in stomach ulcers, and is effective in treating cuts, burns, wounds, acne, abscesses, cracked skin, sore gums, sore throats, colds, indigestion, eye infections and even Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

According to the research, some people have found relief from duodenal and stomach ulcers by spreading a generous amount (about one teaspoon) of Active Manuka Honey on a slice of bread one hour before meals, without fluids, and again at bedtime. The bread is supposed to ensure that the honey stays in the stomach for a longer period. Some people have also reported that they have had good results when they even ate the honey straight from the spoon.

Honey can also be used in treating gum inflammations. The honey has pain-reducing qualities and reduces gum inflammation at the same time. Who in the modern world would have known that medicine could taste so sweet if it were not for the wisdom of the ages?

Honey, despite being sweet, has also been found to disrupt the process by which bacteria in the mouth are able to cause tooth decay. The bacteria Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus sobrinus, and Lactobacillus caseii, which inhabit the mouth and produce harmful acid, have been found in laboratory testing to have their acid production sharply reduced and almost stopped altogether in the presence of moderate antibacterial strength honey.

New Zealand Manuka honey is considered the top medicinal honey in the world. Down to Earth is pleased to inform you that we carry Manuka honey in the Grocery sections of our stores.

Doctors turning sweet on healing with honey

Peter Molan, Ph.D., likes to tell the story of the 20-year-old wound. Infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, an abscess oozed in an English woman's armpit long after it had been drained. Nothing seemed to help, and the pain prevented her from working.

Then in August of 1999, she read about the remarkable wound-healing properties of honey. She convinced doctors to apply some to the dressing to her arm, and a month later the wound healed. Now she's back at work.

Novel as this treatment sounds, it would have inspired yawns among doctors in ancient Egypt, according to May Berenbaum, Ph.D., a University of Illinois entomologist.

"Honey has been used for centuries to treat a wide range of medical problems like wounds, burns, cataracts, skin ulcers and scrapes," she says. "And now various researchers worldwide are also studying -- and finding -- strong antimicrobial properties in some honeys."

Honey fell from favor as a wound dressing when antibiotic dressings were developed during World War II. But the new research -- and the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria -- are putting this old-time folk remedy into the contemporary medicine chest.

Last year, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration -- the equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- approved honey as a medicine. A company in Australia this year began marketing medical honey as a wound dressing in pharmacies there. It's available in the United States through the Internet.

Honey helps wounds in several ways, says Molan. Its thickness provides a protective barrier. The hydrogen peroxide it contains is released slowly, killing germs in the wound. Some as-yet-unknown ingredients reduce inflammation, while others, perhaps amino acids and vitamin C, speed the growth of healthy tissue. Honey even makes wounds smell better, possibly because when bacteria in wounds eat honey's sugars, they give off sweeter-smelling gases.

Dozens of studies, in animals and humans, have documented such benefits. One of the most convincing reports, published in the 1998 issue of the journal Burns, tells how researchers from the Dr. V. M. Medical College in Maharashtra, India, compared honey with silver sulfadiazine, the standard treatment for superficial burns.

The researchers first smeared honey on gauze and used it to dress the burns of 52 patients. Another 52 patients got the same treatment but with silver sulfadiazine in place of the honey.

In the 52 patients treated with honey, 87 percent healed within 15 days, compared with 10 percent of those treated with silver sulfadiazine. The honey-treated patients also experienced less pain, leaking of wound fluid, and scarring.

Molan, a biochemist at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, and other researchers have found special bacteria-killing properties in honey made from the nectar of the tea tree (Leptospermum). In laboratory experiments, reported in the November 1992 Journal of Applied Bacteriology, Molan and his colleagues found that it was particularly effective in slaying staphylococcus aureus.

This so-called "Golden Staph" -- which infested the English woman's 20-year-old wound -- sometimes survives the most potent antibiotics, killing its victims. "Manuka honey has worked in very desperate cases where nothing else has worked," says Molan.

Based on the research of Molan and others, an Australian company is now marketing Manuka honey under the name Medihoney. To make it, beekeepers set their hives close to tea trees so the bees will gather their nectar.

Studies so far have found no side effects other than an occasional slight burning sensation when the honey is applied. Though honey sometimes contains the spores of bacteria that cause botulism, Molan says there have been no reported cases of this bacteria or anything else in honey infecting a wound.

Experts do caution that infants should not eat honey because of the botulism risk. "But it's still OK to use honey on children's (and infants') burns or scrapes," says Molan.

Molan also believes it is safe to use ordinary supermarket honey on such minor wounds. And it's a lot cheaper than antibiotic ointments. But since ingredients vary depending on the nectar from which the honey is made, Medihoney offers the advantage of laboratory testing.

It's one medicine that doesn't need a spoonful of sugar to help it go down.

The treatment that's the bee's knees

Medicine may be increasingly high-tech, but the latest wonder treatment which is being offered to patients is - honey.

Last week, it was announced that bandages soaked in manuka honey are to be given to mouth cancer patients at the Christie Hospital in Manchester to reduce their chances of contracting the MRSA superbug and to lessen wound inflammation following surgery.

This is just the latest study investigating this particular type of honey's healing powers.

It is used routinely at the Manchester Royal Infirmary for dressing wounds, and other research has found it can fight gum disease, ease digestive problems and soothe sore throats.

All honey contains hydrogen peroxide, a substance once used as a wound disinfectant in hospitals - it comes from an enzyme that bees add to nectar.

It also contains the enzyme glucose oxidase, which boosts its anti-bacterial properties.

This was recognised by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, who used honey to help heal burns and sores.

But manuka honey - made by bees that collect pollen from the manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium), which grows wild in New Zealand - has other, yet to be identified, ingredients which appear to have health benefits.

Professor Peter Molan, director of the honey research centre at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, has called these 'unique manuka factors' (UMFs) and uses this to classify its various strengths.

For example, a UMF5 product is thought to be equivalent to a 5 per cent solution of a standard antiseptic; a UMF20, the highest strain, is equal to a 20 per cent solution of antiseptic.

The honey costs up to £12 a jar, and some doctors recommend one teaspoonful before meals for general health and digestive problems or it can be applied neat to the skin for rashes and wounds.

Here is a guide to manuka honey's other benefits:

FIGHTS SUPERBUGS

In separate studies, researchers at Aintree Hospital in Liverpool and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, found manuka honey could help to combat MRSA, which kills 5,000 British patients a year.

Outbreaks of the superbug are estimated to cost the health service £1 billion a year in extra treatment.

'Our research found that even at concentrations as low as 3 per cent, honey is able to inhibit the growth of the bacteria,' says Dr Rose Cooper, the head of the Cardiff team.

'It is probable that at higher concentrations the honey would destroy the MRSA.'

Another study published in the European Journal of Medical Research found manuka had an 85 per cent success rate - compared with 50 per cent with routine treatments - when used to treat infected caesarean and hysterectomy wounds.

FIGHTS GUM DISEASE

Despite its sweetness, manuka honey has been found to disrupt three types of bacteria in the mouth which cause tooth decay.

In laboratory tests, it sharply reduced the acid levels produced by Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus sobrinus and Lactobacillus caseii.

Research by Professor Molan has shown that reducing the amount of acid stops the bacteria from producing dextran, which sticks dental plaque to the surface of teeth. He recommends rubbing manuka into the gums after brushing or, since it retains its anti-microbial properties even when diluted up to 50 times, it can be used as a mouthwash.

Because it is not known exactly what are the honey's powerful properties and as it is so sweet, it should not be given to children aged under two.

SOOTHES SORE THROATS

Manuka honey with a high UMF rating could help fight infections, such as the bacteria streptoccous pyogones, that causes sore throats.

Professor Molan found that taking a teaspoon three times a day, and keeping it in the mouth for as long as possible before swallowing, prevented most throat infections from developing to the point where a trip to the doctor is necessary.

EASES DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS

Lower UMF manuka honey can help maintain general health and good digestion.

They have helped to treat problems ranging from diarrhoea and indigestion to stomach ulcers.

A teaspoon on bread or toast three times a day can also ease acid reflux and heartburn.

SOOTHES ACNE, ECZEMA & SUNBURN

Trials at the University of Waikato are looking into the effects of manuka honey on acne and eczema.

It is suggested it is applied neat to the skin as a face pack and left for 15 to 20 minutes before washing off.

The honey is already used by many acne sufferers, and naturopaths recommend anyone prescribed antibiotics for acne to take the honey orally as it will help to balance bacteria in the intestine.

Diluted or neat manuka can also be applied to soothe sunburned skin.

BOOSTS ENDURANCE

Using honey, including manuka of various UMFs, during exercise was found to be as successful at improving performance and power among athletes as specialist energy drinks.

Researchers at the exercise and sport nutrition laboratory of the University of Memphis found three to five teaspoons of honey reduced the time to complete a 64km time trial by more than three minutes and improved cycling power by 6 per cent compared to a placebo.

'In the quest for that extra advantage, endurance athletes at all levels turn to carbohydrate sources, such as the many sports drinks on the market, to fuel strenuous exercise,' said Professor Richard Kreider, who led the study.

'We were pleased to find that honey, a cocktail of natural sugars, performed just as well.'