Jordanians take honey seriously. Families have their favourite beekeeper in Ajloun, and a jar of good local honey is a respectable gift. So when a jar of manuka appears at several times the price, it is fair to ask what the fuss is about.
Where manuka comes from
Manuka honey is made by bees that feed on the flowers of Leptospermum scoparium, a shrub native to New Zealand and parts of Australia. The flowering season is short, supply is limited, and that is part of the reason for the high prices.
The chemistry that sets it apart
All honey is mostly sugars and water, with small amounts of other compounds. Manuka stands out because of its high levels of methylglyoxal, usually written as MGO. A study published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research in 2008 identified methylglyoxal as the main antibacterial constituent of New Zealand manuka honey in laboratory tests, measuring between 38 and 761 mg per kilogram in the samples tested, up to about 100 times the level in conventional honeys. Other honeys get their activity mainly through different substances, particularly hydrogen peroxide, which is produced by a bee enzyme.
How to read a jar
Because prices are high, mislabelling has been a known issue. New Zealand researchers, writing in npj Science of Food in 2018, described food fraud as a real problem for high-value foods and developed a set of chemical markers from the nectar and DNA markers from the pollen to authenticate New Zealand manuka honey for regulatory use. On a shop shelf, look for:
- An MGO number, which states the amount of methylglyoxal
- A UMF rating, a grading system that originated in New Zealand and considers several markers
- The country of origin and producer
- Whether it is monofloral manuka, from mostly one nectar source, or multifloral, which is a broader blend
Higher numbers indicate more of the marker compound. They do not mean that the honey will do more for your health.
What the research says
Most of the interesting results come from laboratory work, and from specially processed medical-grade honey used in sterile wound dressings under professional supervision. A Cochrane review published in 2015 examined 26 trials with 3,011 participants on honey as a topical wound treatment. It found high-certainty evidence that honey healed partial-thickness burns a few days faster than some conventional dressings, but rated most other comparisons as low or very low certainty and concluded that overall conclusions are difficult to draw. That is entirely different from a spoonful in your tea. Research on eating manuka honey for health purposes is limited, and it does not establish that it boosts immunity or manages any illness. Do not put kitchen honey on wounds. Enjoy manuka, if you choose to, as a food.
Who should be careful
- Never give any honey to babies under 1 year, because, as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns, honey can contain the bacteria that cause infant botulism
- People with diabetes should count it as sugar, and discuss it with their doctor
- Anyone allergic to bee products or pollen should avoid it
- Check first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a chronic condition or take regular medication
Honey is still mostly sugar. Spread on a piece of toast or stirred into warm sage tea, it is a pleasure, and it is sensible to keep portions small, whichever honey you prefer. See a doctor for a wound that does not heal or for a cough that continues.
Sources
- Identification and quantification of methylglyoxal as the dominant antibacterial constituent of Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honeys from New Zealand · Molecular Nutrition & Food Research
- Using chemical and DNA marker analysis to authenticate a high-value food, manuka honey · npj Science of Food
- Honey as a topical treatment for wounds · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
- Botulism Prevention · US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
This article is general health information for educational purposes and is not medical advice. It does not promote any product. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting a supplement, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have a health condition or take medication.