Manuka

History

Man has been aware of honey's value for many centuries. Paintings depicting bee-keeping have been found in Egyptian tombs indicating that bees were important to the ancients. They used honey in cooking, medicines adn even made sacrificial offerings of it to their gods. Honey was sometimes placed in a tomb in a sealed container, presumably as a food for the departed and when opened thousands of years later was found to be as good as the day it was made. Nowadays most people think of honey as a nutural sweetener, a healthy alternative to sugar, but honey has many health giving properties.
As far back as Aristotle(350 BC) adn Dioscorides(50 AD) certain honeys were recognised to have specific medicinal qualities. They recommended paricular honeys, collected from specific plants and regins, be used for the treatment of individual ailments. Researcher confirmed this anecdotal evidence forty years ago when they discovered that honey from differen plants had differing antibacterial activity. They devised a method called the "inhibine number" of honey to identify the level of antibacterial activity. In 1943, Haydek, a sientist at the university of Minnesota, proved that there are at least six vitamins in honey - thiamine(Vitamin B1), ascorbic acid(Vitamin C), riboflavin(B2)pantothenic acid(B5), pyridoxine(B6) and Niacin. But honeys fidder widely in chemical analysis depending on the type of plant or tree from where the nectar was collected, and the soil and locality in which the plant is growing.
It is now well established that honey has important antibacterial properties and inhibits a broad spectrum of bacteria and fungi. The reasons for this are varied. Honey is a super-saturated solution of sugars, with a water content of only 15-21% by weight. The strong interaction of these sugar and water molecules leaves very few of the water molecules avilable for micro-organisms, thereby completely inhibiting the growth of many pathogens. The major antibacterial activity in most honeys, however, is due to hydrogen peroxide, which is produced enzymatically in honey. In addition, there may be antibacterial components that come from the nectar of certain flowers, expacially manuka.

New Zealand active manuka honey found effective in fighting infections.

For the past 15 years Dr. Peter Molan MBE and Associate professor in Biochemisty at Waikato University, has studied the antimicrobial effects of honey. This research discovered that some isolated pockets of New Zealand produced manuka honey that had antimicrobial activity which exceeded that of manuka honey from other areas.
At the 1996 National Bee-Keepers Association conference in Wanganui, Dr Molan in outlining the results of his research said his work began by measuring the growth patterns of the seven main bacteria types - E Coli, Staph. aureus, Salmonella typh, Strep. pyogenes, Serratia marcesens, Proteus mirabills and pseudomonas aeruginosa - which infect the skin. By matching these with different strength concentrations of honey applications he was able to find the minimum concentration required to halt their growth.
"Active Manuka Honey" refers to manuka honey that has been tested by Waikato university, New Zealand, and shown to have plant derived antibacterial activity.
Active Manuka Honey, for example, was found to be a very potent weapon against the most common bacteria alive in burns and open wounds, Staphylococcus aureus. "We found that very little active manuka honey was required to halt its growth, and the honey is harmless." Dr Molan said. More recently, Active Manuka Honey was found to have an unique effect against the bacterial organism, Helicobacter pylori, present in many human stomachs where it is thought to be responsible for gastric or peptic ulcers. When isolated from biopsies of gastric ulcers this bacteria was found to be sensitive to a solution of Active Manuka Honey but not to a solution of other honeys. As a result of this preliminary work, research is now being conducted on the hypothesis that Active Manuka Honey may improve the condition of people with stomach ulcers.

Why active manuka honey is different?

The Manuka shrub grows abundantly throughout New Zealand, commonly called Ti Tree, the oil extract from its leaves is well known for its anti-microbial properies. However, its medicinally active constituents and activity vary dpending on where it grows. The same variation applies to manuka honey from plants from specific sited situated in untouched native bush forests in remote parts of the country. Only 20 to 30% of New Zealand manuka honey is active, having anti-bacterial activity beyond that of its usual hydrogen peroxide content. It is this activity, called the "Unique Manuka Factor", that sets Active Manuka Honey apart in its beneficial medicinal qualities.