Abstract
Sardinian bitter honey, obtained from the autumnal flowering of the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.), has an old fame and tradition in popular use, especially as a medicine. Its knowledge dates back over 2000 years, starting from the Greeks and Romans to the present day. There are many literary references from illustrious personalities of the past such as Cicero, Horace, Virgil, and Dioscorides, until recent times, associated with the peculiar anomaly of its taste, which lends itself to literary and poetic metaphors. The curiosity of its bitter taste is also what led to the first studies starting in the late 1800s, aimed to reveal its origin. Other studies on its botanical source and characteristics have been carried out over time, up to the most recent investigations, which have confirmed its potential for use in the medical field, thanks to its antioxidant, antiradical, and cancer-preventing properties. These benefits have been associated with its phenolic component and in particular with the prevailing phenolic acid (homogentisic acid). Later, other strawberry tree honeys from the Mediterranean area have also shown the same properties. However, Sardinian bitter honey maintains its geographical and historical identity, which is recognized by other Mediterranean cultures.
Highlights
The data obtained show that, despite the existence of a good correlation level between all the markers found, only homogentisic acid appears to be the most reliable marker of botanical origin of strawberry tree honey thanks to its higher concentration with respect to those measured for isomers of abscisic acid and unedone [18]
It is interesting to note that the degree of inhibition of bitter honey is significantly higher against K. pneumonia and S. aureus than against E. coli and P. aeruginosa with inhibitory activity at very low concentrations compared to what has already been reported against the same species of bacteria [31,43,49]
Regarding Sardinian bitter honeys, the evaluation was made incorporating the honey into the nutrient agar and evaluating the growth levels of the same bacterial species by visual assessment on the agar plate [46], proving in this case a highest effect against the Gram-positive bacterium S. aureus, and versus K. pneumoniae among the Gram-negative bacteria tested (Figure 7)
Summary
The strawberry tree (Arbutus undo L.) (Figure 1) is the main source of the renowned bitter honey, of which Sardinia is probably the region with the most significant production in the world [6,7]. Strawberry tree is an evergreen species, usually a shrub, that grows spontaneously mainly around the Mediterranean basin. These honeys usually fall into class I with an average number of granules in 10 g equal to 10,400 ± 5700 [15] and with percentages of Arbutus pollen varying from 7.3% to 81.6%. In some cases, due to the frequent incidence of over-represented pollens such as Eucalyptus, the absolute number of pollen granules can vary considerably, even reaching the III class of representativity (PK/10 g >100,000)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
