Honey has been used for centuries to treat wounds. Most honey has antimicrobial actions due to osmotic effects and the presence of hydrogen peroxide. In recent times honeys derived from certain plants, such as Manuka honey, have been shown to have additional and potent antibiotic properties. Now a new study suggests that a honey made from the Australian native myrtle might be even more powerful again.
It is important at the start to acknowledge the origins of this research. The research was done through the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI). The QAAFI was formed through an alliance between the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government’s Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation. QAAFI draws together 100 research teams across Queensland looking at plant, animal, and food sciences with the aim of being a world leader in agricultural and food research. That’s all fine but then there is the commercial involvement.
In this instance QAAFI has combined with The Australian Organic Honey Company and MediBioactive Australia. Any time that commercial interests become involved with research, sceptical antennae spring up as to the unbiased nature of the research. In this case though the results do seem worth noting in that they may promise an answer to a serious medical issue.
The trial results showed that honey harvested from native myrtle (Leptospermum polygalifolium) is a highly effective antibiotic treatment. This myrtle is found along the Eastern seaboard from the south coast of NSW to Cape York and the honey derived from it seems potent.
According to the research, this myrtle honey contains a substance called methylglyoxal (MGO) which was found to be effective against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus-aureus (MRSA), or more simply, antibiotic resistant golden staph. This MRSA superbug is causing untreatable infections in hospitals and institutions where the residents are immune challenged, such as nursing homes.
The high levels of MGO in the myrtle honey means that relatively small quantities have been able to stop MRSA growth in laboratory studies. So wounds that have been infected with MRSA could conceivably benefit from treatment with the myrtle honey. This would be a major medical advance as antibiotic resistant bacteria are becoming a significant problem.
The focus on myrtle honey in this study is not to say that other honeys such as Manuka should be discarded, in fact quite the reverse. Manuka honey also contains methylglyoxal as well as the antibiotic ingredient UMF. While research such as this highlights the powerful antimicrobial and healing capacity of honey from a specific source, the myrtle in this case, it also reminds us of the power of this readily accessible food, and medicine, in all its forms.
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