Did you know that Australia has an active honey, one that is equivalent to New Zealand's Manuka?
I didn't. But today on a visit to my local farmers market I discovered that we do. Australia's active honey is called Jelly Bush Honey, it comes from the tree species Leptospermum, the same species that manuka honey comes from. Apparently out of the 10 species we have in Northern NSW, 3 of these have been discovered to be active. Jelly bush honey has the same uses as manuka honey and may be used medicinally for cuts, bites, grazes, any open wounds and it appears to work wonders on ulcers, especially when nothing else does. Studies have shown that honey derived from active leptospermum trees has antibacterial, antiviral, anti fungal and antimicrobial properties to name a few.
Have a look at the following articles - http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25653017-30417,00.html
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s978921.htm
Also next time you see a bee in the garden, give it a little word of thanks. Albert Einstein once predicted that if bees disappeared humans would soon follow. And we may well have the opportunity to find out if this is true. Bee populations across the world are dying, some are being decimated by a small mite called varroa destructor, Australia is the only Country in the world who's honey bee populations are varroa free. But there seem to be other reasons also, reasons scientist are not completely aware of, bees, like frogs may be an indication of how well our environment is coping, so perhaps we should take note.
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Hi Rachel, it's Kristen! Saw the URL on your skype profile and got curious. So I read this post and was wondering what "active" honey is? and how does it differ to normal honey?
ReplyDeleteHi Kristen! "Active" refers to the phytochemical properties of the honey, there are potentially two types of activities in honey - the hydrogen peroxide activity and the non-hydrogen peroxide activity also referred to as the Unique manuka factor (UMF{NZ}), or unique Leptospermum factor (ULF {Aust.}). Pretty much all honey has a level of hydrogen peroxide antibacterial effect which is released due to the presence of an enzyme called glucose oxidase. The hydrogen peroxide antibacterial activity, however, is short lived as it becomes less active when diluted, which generally happens at the sight of a wound once fluids from the body have mixed with the honey. The non-peroxide activity on the other hand is present only in "Active" honey (along with the hydrogen peroxide activity) and has a much more stable, action which is not affected by dilution so it's antibacterial effects are much more resistant and long lasting especially on deeper wounds and for digestive issues. I also like to use manuka honey on burns and for sore throats. The "Active" honey is also tested for it's unique phytoactive strengths and is given a rating from 10+ to 20+, 20+ being the strongest in activity. I hope this helps. Rachael
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