Honey

Honey has been found to have a significant antioxidant content, measured as the capacity of honey to scavenge free radicals. The antioxidant activity of honey has also been demonstrated as inhibition of chemiluminescence in a xanthine-xanthine oxidase-luminol system that works via generation of superoxide radicals. This antioxidant activity may be at least partly what is responsible for the anti-inflammatory action of honey, as oxygen free radicals are involved in various aspects of inflammation, such as further recruitment of leucocytes that initiate further inflammation. (The application of antioxidants to burns has been shown to reduce inflammation.) But even if the antioxidants in honey do not directly suppress the inflammatory process they can be expected, by scavenging free radicals, to reduce the amount of damage that would otherwise have resulted from these.

As well as scavenging free radicals to neutralise them after they have been formed, honey has the potential to exert an antioxidant action by a completely different mechanism, inhibition of the formation of free radicals in the first place. The superoxide that is first formed in inflammation is relatively un-reactive, and is converted to hydrogen peroxide which is much less reactive, but from this is generated the extremely reactive peroxide radical. This formation of the oxidant peroxide radical is catalysed by metal ions such as iron and copper, and sequestering of these metal ions in complexes with organic molecules is an important antioxidant defence system. Flavonoids and other polyphenols, common constituents of honey, will do this.

The usage of honey as a medicine is referred to in the most ancient written records. Honey was prescribed by the physicians of many ancient races of people for a wide variety of ailments. The ancient usage of honey as a wound dressing has been described by Beck & Smedley, Majno and by Forrest. The ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans all used honey, in combination with other herbs and on its own, to treat wounds and diseases of the gut. The Muslim prophet Mohammed recommended the use of honey for the treatment of diarrhoea. Aristotle (350 BC) wrote of honey being a salve for wounds and sore eyes.

In ancient times honey from Attica had a special reputation as a curative substance for eye disorders. Dioscorides (c.50 AD) wrote of honey being " good for sunburn and spots on the face" and "for all rotten and hollow ulcers". He also wrote that "honey heals inflammation of the throat and tonsils, and cures coughs" and "mollifies the prepuce so that it can be pulled back over the bared glans penis". The usage of honey as a medicine has continued into present-day folk-medicine. In India lotus honey is said to be a panacea for eye diseases. The ancient usage of honey for coughs and sore throats has also continued into the traditional medicine of modern times

Other examples of current day usage of honey in folk medicine are: as a traditional therapy for infected leg ulcers in Ghana; as a traditional therapy for earache in Nigeria; as a traditional therapy in Mali for the topical treatment of measles, and in the eyes in measles to prevent corneal scarring. Honey also has a traditional folklore usage for the treatment of gastric ulcers.

There has been a renaissance in the usage of honey as a medicine in more recent times. In outlining the resurgence of its usage in modern professional medicine, Zumla and Lulat in 1989 referred to honey as "a remedy rediscovered", and expressed the opinion, "The therapeutic potential of uncontaminated, pure honey is grossly underutilized. It is widely available in most communities and although the mechanism of action of several of its properties remains obscure and needs further investigation, the time has now come for conventional medicine to lift the blinds off this 'traditional remedy' and give it its due recognition."

Possibly the increasing interest in the use of alternative therapies is the result of the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria becoming a major problem; or because people are experiencing the sometimes severe side-effects of many pharmaceuticals, which in the currently prevailing ambiance of "chemophobia" may be sufficient to give rise to an aversion to all synthetic drugs. However, there is a tendency for some practitioners to dismiss out of hand any suggestion that treatment with honey is worthy of consideration as a remedy in modern medicine.

An editorial in Archives of Internal Medicine assigned honey to the category of "worthless but harmless substances". Other medical professionals have clearly shown that they are unaware of the research that has demonstrated the rational explanations for the therapeutic effects of honey. Many are not even aware that honey has an antibacterial activity beyond the osmotic effect of its sugar content, yet there have been numerous microbiological studies that have shown that in many honeys there are other components present with a much more potent antibacterial effect.

The ancient physicians who prescribed honey for various ailments would have had no knowledge of the principles involved in its medicinal action, just an empirical knowledge gained from its effective usage. But modern physicians generally require there to be a rational explanation for its medicinal action before a traditional , or "complementary", medicine is given any consideration. Much has been written on the subject outside the professional medical and scientific literature, but many people, especially medical professionals, treat such reports with scepticism, especially since much of the popular literature claims honey to be almost a panacea.

For more information visit www.honeynz.co.nz