Manuka honey
Encyclopedia
Manuka honey is a monofloral honey
made by bees in New Zealand
that frequent the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium
. Only 10 percent of all Manuka Honey is claimed to have antibacterial properties because of its non-hydrogen peroxide
antibacterial content, which is known as NPA (Non-Peroxide Activity) Manuka honey. Another popular bio activity testing method is MGO, which focuses on the Methylglyoxal content of the honey. MGO is found in high concentrations in Manuka honey and, according to German researcher Professor Thomas Henle, is the antiseptic compound mostly responsible for NPA.
Manuka Honey should contain at least 70% Manuka pollen count in order to be called Manuka Honey or NPA Manuka Honey.Manuka honey is typically dark in colour with a strong flavour.
. Firstly, two wells are created in an agar plate
, and S. aureus cells are scraped onto each well using an inoculating needle. After soaking small squares of blotter paper with methylglyoxal
and phenol
solution separately into the wells, each square is set in different ends of the agar plate using forceps and then left upside down in the refrigerator for a few days. After that, a comparison between the size and shape of the bacterial colonies is made to determine the antibacterial activities between the two. Varying concentrations of phenol solution are used to find one that coincides with the antibacterial potency. Thus a fair and accurate Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) can be determined.
Monofloral honey
Monofloral honey is a type of honey which has a high value in the marketplace because it has a distinctive flavor or other attribute due to its being predominantly from the nectar of one plant species....
made by bees in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
that frequent the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium
Leptospermum scoparium
Leptospermum scoparium is a shrub or small tree native to New Zealand and southeast Australia. Evidence suggests that L. scoparium originated in Australia before the onset of the Miocene aridity and dispersed relatively recently from Eastern Australia to New Zealand. It is likely that on arrival...
. Only 10 percent of all Manuka Honey is claimed to have antibacterial properties because of its non-hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...
antibacterial content, which is known as NPA (Non-Peroxide Activity) Manuka honey. Another popular bio activity testing method is MGO, which focuses on the Methylglyoxal content of the honey. MGO is found in high concentrations in Manuka honey and, according to German researcher Professor Thomas Henle, is the antiseptic compound mostly responsible for NPA.
Manuka Honey should contain at least 70% Manuka pollen count in order to be called Manuka Honey or NPA Manuka Honey.Manuka honey is typically dark in colour with a strong flavour.
Origin
Manuka honey is gathered in New Zealand from bees feeding on manuka, which grows uncultivated throughout the country. The honey has antibacterial properties, but its antimicrobial activity varies with origin and processing.Antibacterial ratings
An agar-well diffusion assay is conducted on the bacterium Staphylococcus aureusStaphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is a facultative anaerobic Gram-positive coccal bacterium. It is frequently found as part of the normal skin flora on the skin and nasal passages. It is estimated that 20% of the human population are long-term carriers of S. aureus. S. aureus is the most common species of...
. Firstly, two wells are created in an agar plate
Agar plate
An agar plate is a Petri dish that contains a growth medium used to culture microorganisms or small plants like the moss Physcomitrella patens.Selective growth compounds may also be added to the media, such as antibiotics....
, and S. aureus cells are scraped onto each well using an inoculating needle. After soaking small squares of blotter paper with methylglyoxal
Methylglyoxal
Methylglyoxal, also called pyruvaldehyde or 2-oxopropanal is the aldehyde form of pyruvic acid. It has two carbonyl groups, so it is a dicarbonyl compound. Methylglyoxal is both an aldehyde and a ketone....
and phenol
Phenol
Phenol, also known as carbolic acid, phenic acid, is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5OH. It is a white crystalline solid. The molecule consists of a phenyl , bonded to a hydroxyl group. It is produced on a large scale as a precursor to many materials and useful compounds...
solution separately into the wells, each square is set in different ends of the agar plate using forceps and then left upside down in the refrigerator for a few days. After that, a comparison between the size and shape of the bacterial colonies is made to determine the antibacterial activities between the two. Varying concentrations of phenol solution are used to find one that coincides with the antibacterial potency. Thus a fair and accurate Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) can be determined.
External links
- Honey can reverse antibiotic resistance, study suggest from sciencedaily.com
- What's special about Active Manuka Honey? from Waikato Honey Research Unit website
- Koichi Inoue, Shiho Murayama, Fumie Seshimo, Kazue Takeba, Yoshihiro Yoshimura and Hiroyuki Nakazawa, 2005, Identification of phenolic compound in manuka honey as specific superoxide anion radical scavenger using electron spin resonance (ESR) and liquid chromatography with coulometric array detection
- Ion channel research
- Manuka honey 'could help fight superbugs'
- Activity Testing & Manuka Analysis from Minerva Scientific