All honeys have properties that help them heal wounds. But how do they do this, and what’s so unique about Mānuka honey?
The problem with wounds
In normal situations, like a cut finger or a grazed knee, the wound will heal on its own. But sometimes wounds can become infected with bacteria and they don’t heal.
Bacteria feed on the injured tissue, multiplying in the wound and causing more tissue damage. The wound starts to smell and pus collects. This pus is made up of dead white blood cells, part of the body’s effort to kill the bacteria and heal the infection.
Honey the bacterminator!
Honey helps wounds to heal by killing the infecting bacteria. Honey has four main properties that help it to exterminate bacteria:
Honey contains lots of sugar
There is a lot of sugar in honey. In fact, it is a supersaturated solution of sugar, which means that it contains as much sugar as can possibly be dissolved in it. This makes it taste great, but it also means that there is very little water in the honey.
When the honey is on a wound, the honey acts like a dry sponge and soaks up any spare water. This is called osmosis. Because of osmosis, the honey draws fluid away from the infected wound. This helps to kill bacteria, which need liquid to be able to grow.
Honey is very acidic
Honey is very acidic. Its pH is between 3 and 4 - about the same as orange juice or a can of coke. Bacteria are killed in acidic environments like this. But if the honey is diluted (for example by the release of body fluids from a wound), it may be less acidic, allowing bacteria to grow again.
Honey produces hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is an antibacterial substance that is sold in pharmacies. It is made naturally in honey by an enzyme called glucose oxidase, which is added to the plant nectar by bees.
Glucose oxidase is not active in full strength honey because of the honey’s high acidity. However, when the honey is diluted (for example by the release of body fluids from a wound) the honey becomes less acid, the enzyme becomes active, and hydrogen peroxide is produced.
Honey contains plant-derived factors
Some honeys have antibacterial action that appears to be caused by phytochemicals that are found naturally in the nectar that the bees collect. For example, honey made from the flowers of New Zealand’s mānuka trees seems to be particularly powerful at killing bacteria.
Methylglyoxal is thought to be the major contributor to mānuka honey’s non-peroxide antibacterial activity. The antibacterial activity of mānuka honey is graded and given a 'UMF" number — the Unique Mānuka Factor. You can look at some of the early research that contributed to this identification of the UMF compund in Hunting for honey's healing power.
Learn more
The mānuka honey industry has become a valuable industry for New Zealand. This industry depends predominantly on wild harvesting of honey which can be unpredictable. Researchers are looking at alternatives to wild harvesting, learn more in Mānuka plantation research for medical-grade honey.
A lot of research has focused on the healing properties of mānuka honey in order to add value to this primary product. Take a closer look in From bees to bandages,
There are three unit plans available. Honey for wound healing explores bacteria, the immune system and how the use of honey kills bacteria in infected wounds. From bees to bandages investigates the antibacterial properties of Mānuka honey with the goal of producing a wound dressing. The properties of honey investigates the physical and chemical properties of various honeys to design a way to distinguish Mānuka honey from other types of honey.
