The Composition and Biological Activity of Honey: A Focus on Manuka Honey.

José Alvarez-Suarez,Massimiliano Gasparrini,Luca Mazzoni,Tamara Forbes-Hernández,Francesca Giampieri

doi:10.3390/foods3030420

José Alvarez-Suarez, Massimiliano Gasparrini + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods3030420

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Abstract

Honey has been used as a food and medical product since the earliest times. It has been used in many cultures for its medicinal properties, as a remedy for burns, cataracts, ulcers and wound healing, because it exerts a soothing effect when initially applied to open wounds. Depending on its origin, honey can be classified in different categories among which, monofloral honey seems to be the most promising and interesting as a natural remedy. Manuka honey, a monofloral honey derived from the manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium), has greatly attracted the attention of researchers for its biological properties, especially its antimicrobial and antioxidant capacities. Our manuscript reviews the chemical composition and the variety of beneficial nutritional and health effects of manuka honey. Firstly, the chemical composition of manuka honey is described, with special attention given to its polyphenolic composition and other bioactive compounds, such as glyoxal and methylglyoxal. Then, the effect of manuka honey in wound treatment is described, as well as its antioxidant activity and other important biological effects.

Highlights

Honey is a sweet and flavorful natural product, which is consumed for its high nutritive value and for its effects on human health, with antioxidant, bacteriostatic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, as well as wound and sunburn healing effects [1]
This review focuses on the phytochemical composition of manuka honey and on its biological effects
The scavenger role of manuka honey against superoxide anion radicals has been investigated through electronic paramagnetic resonance [54,61]; the results proved that the quenching properties of manuka honey could be attributed to methyl syringate [62]

Summary

Introduction

Honey is a sweet and flavorful natural product, which is consumed for its high nutritive value and for its effects on human health, with antioxidant, bacteriostatic, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, as well as wound and sunburn healing effects [1]. Manuka honey, a dark honey, has greatly attracted the attention of the international scientific community for its biological properties, especially for its antimicrobial and antioxidant capacities. The main bioactive compounds in manuka honey and the mechanisms responsible for their biological activities are being studied These studies would support the increased use of manuka honey in skin medicine, and they can be the basis for the isolation and purification of compounds for the development of bio-pharmaceutical products with antimicrobial properties and wound healing properties; these new findings could represent an added economic value that can favor the beekeepers in their productions. An overview of the most abundant phytochemicals is presented, with particular attention to recent evidence on its antimicrobial activity and its impact on wound treatments, as well as on its antioxidant capacity

Chemical Composition

Use of Manuka Honey in Wound Treatments

Antioxidant Activity

Other Effects

Conclusions