AMHA Welcomes Research Results

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18 APRIL 2011

AMHA Welcomes Research Results

- Manuka honey is more than just a chemical

The Active Manuka Honey Association (AMHA) welcomes research results presented at a meeting of the Society for Microbiology in Harrogate, UK which suggest that Manuka honey could play a role in the battle against antibiotic-resistant superbugs. AMHA is excited at the growing international recognition of Manuka honey and the unique properties of some of those honeys. Professor Rose Cooper and colleagues at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, have demonstrated that Manuka honey interacts with three bacteria that commonly infect wounds - MRSA, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Group A streptococci. Professor Cooper is hopeful that these findings may lead to the development of products combining honey with antibiotics that could be applied directly to infected wounds to speed healing and prevent the spread of suberbugs to other patients in hospital.

AMHA's General Manager, John Rawcliffe, says these findings confirm the place of some Manuka honey in the health supplement and natural healing market and offer possibilities for further product development. He says that these findings continue to show some Manuka honey as having unique antibacterial properties and that while the presence of naturally occurring methylglyoxal has been identified as an important contributor, the exact origins of the antibacterial activity are yet to be fully understood. Rawcliffe goes on to point out other research (FASEB Journal, Kwakman Paulus HS, 'how honey kills bacteria', ISSN 08926638) has demonstrated that even allowing for the regular antibacterial activity of honey, and allowing for the effect of Methylglyoxal, there is still a unique and unexplained antibacterial component deriving from the unique properties of the Manuka honey itself.

Professor Cooper's research highlights the importance of the sterility of the Manuka honey in developing these advanced products. Rawcliffe notes that there are many other quality factors that contribute to the unique properties of Manuka honey and that the UMFR quality trademark guarantees product has been manufactured to the highest quality standards. He adds that the UMFR brand, used by manufacturers under license from AMHA, guarantees that the activity of the product meets the label claim, is naturally occurring and is not the result of additives, the safety of which may be unproven, or of other unnatural processes such as heating of the honey.

ENDS

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