Medicinal Uses for Manuka Honey

Manuka honey is a type of honey derived from the Leptospermum scoparium plant, indigenous to New Zealand. It has been found to have healing properties not found in other types of honey and is used in a variety of health care products and home remedies because of its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

Pain Relief

Manuka honey can be used to treat pain because of its anti-inflammatory properties. Manuka honey can penetrate the skin and help with arthritic pain, stiffness, muscle pain and joint pain. Manuka honey contains glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate, which are anti-inflammatory agents. These two anti-inflammatory agents stimulate the production of cartilage components, which are essential for joint repair and pain relief, and also decrease inflammation.

Wound Care

Manuka honey is helpful in treating wounds by allowing dead skin to lift off the wound. Manuka honey has antimicrobial and antibacterial properties which help in treating infection. It decreases inflammation in the wound, which helps to reduce the amount of leakage as well. Manuka honey actively stimulates the healing process so skin grafting is not necessary.

Wrinkles

Manuka honey also helps with the reduction and prevention of wrinkles. It is naturally moisturizing and contains vitamins and antioxidants that are beneficial to helping maintain the elasticity and texture of the skin. Manuka honey helps with the texture of the skin because it produces collagen and aids in skins elasticity. The antimicrobial properties of Manuka Honey help to protect skin from free radicals and damage from the sun, which can also lead to premature aging of the skin.

For more information or to purchase Manuka Honey products, call 1-866-427-7329 or visit www.HoneymarkProducts.com.

Manuka Honey for Chronic Sinusitis

BACKGROUND:
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammatory disease in which bacteria are commonly implicated often in the form of a biofilm. Manuka Honey has been shown in vitro to be an effective treatment against two common CRS pathogens both in the planktonic and in the biofilm forms. The purpose of this study was to determine if the application of Manuka honey to respiratory epithelium would result in histological evidence of epithelial injury.

METHODS:
A nonrandomized controlled trial of four treatment regimes was performed. The left nasal cavity was irrigated with a 1.5-mL Manuka honey solution once daily and the right nasal cavity was not treated. Groups 1-3 were treated for 3, 7, and 14 consecutive days, respectively. Group 4 was treated for 14 consecutive days followed by a 14-day washout period. The nasal respiratory mucosa was immediately harvested. The mucosa was examined by light microscopy for histological change in comparison with the control side.

RESULTS:
Cilia were not measured quantitatively but were equally present on the treated and untreated mucosa. There was no histological evidence of inflammation, epithelial injury or significant morphological changes.

CONCLUSION:
The application of a Manuka honey solution to the nasal respiratory mucosa over different treatment intervals did not show evidence of histological epithelial injury.