Other Honey is honey which has antibacterial activity due
to hydrogen peroxide.
Active Manuka Honey is that which has activity due
to high levels of UMF.
Note: In some studies catalase was added to the manuka honey
to break down any hydrogen
peroxide. In the cases where catalase was added (such as test
result #1 wound-infecting
bacteria; and #11 mastitis-causing bacteria) the results for
the manuka honey would been
approximately halved if the hydrogen peroxide was present
because of the synergistic action
of the two properties.
The results are summarised as follows, expressed
as the minimum concentration of honey
(% v/v) that will completely stop the growth of each species
of micro-organism:
| |
Micro-Organisms |
Micro-Organisms |
Micro-Organisms |
| 1 |
Seven common wound-infecting species of bacteria (Willix et al 1992) |
1.8 to 10.8% |
2.6 to 7.1% |
| 2 |
20 isolates of Pseudomonas from infected wounds (Cooper and Molan, 1999) |
5.5 to 8.7% |
5.8 to 9.0% |
| 3 |
58 clinical isolates of Staphylococcus Aureus (Cooper et al 1999) |
2 to 3% |
3 to 7% |
| 4 |
82 epidemic strains of MRSA (Allen et al 2000) |
4 to 7% |
3 to 7% |
| 5 |
56 strains of VRE (Allen et al 2000) |
5 to 10% |
8 to 20% |
| 6 |
16 isolates of haemolytic streptococci(Cooper RA, Halas E and Molan PC: paper in preparation) |
4.5 to 9.7% |
8 to 20% |
| 7 |
20 strains of Burkholderia cepacia isolated from the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients (Cooper et al 2000) |
2.1 to 5% |
2.8 to 5.3% |
| 8 |
Seven species of dermatophytes commonly causing tineas (Brady et al 1997) |
10 to 50% |
5 to 20% |
| 9 |
7 isolates of helicobacter pylori from biopsies of gastric ulcers (Al Somai et al 1994) |
5% |
>40% |
| 10 |
Twelve species of bacteria commonly causing (Brady NF and Molan PC: paper in preparation |
2 to 11% |
3 to 8% |
| 11 |
Seven species of bacteria commonly causing mastitis in dairy cattle (Allen and Molan 1997) |
5 to 10% |
5 to 10% |
Conclusions:
The activity of honey is sufficient to expect a good
therapeutic antibacterial action if honey was used clinically.
| 1. |
Manuka honey with high levels of UMF could be expected to be more effective than
other honey when used therapeutically because: |
| 2. |
A. The UMF property is stable.
B. The hydrogen peroxide of honey is broken down by the catalase effect of body serum and fluids.
So, in vivo, the activity of honey due to hydrogen peroxide would be less than is seen in laboratory
testing.
C. The UMF property will diffuse more deeply into body tissue than does the hydrogen peroxide property.
D. The presence of both hydrogen peroxide and uMF together gives a synergistic effect making the honey
even more effective. |
Select Honey for Therapeutic Uses Carefully
The results tabulated above are for manuka honey with high
levels of UMF. Not all manuka honey has UMF.
That which has good levels of UMF is identified by the name
UMF and its level clearly displayed on the front label.
The name UMF indicates the honey has a high antibacterial
component and indicates the antibacterial strength of the
honey.
The higher the UMF rating the greater the antibacterial strength
of the honey.
Higher levels of UMF ensure best results.
| 
The following are some of the results observed in laboratory 
