Honey as Medicine! Australia Produces a World’s First
LONGMONT, Colo., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ — Australia achieved a world-first on November 30, 1999 with the release of a pure honey treatment for wounds and sores — MEDIHONEY(R).
Developed in association with Capilano Honey Limited and researched by the Agency for Food and Fiber Sciences and the University of Waikato Honey Research Unit in New Zealand, MEDIHONEY(R) is the first topical honey product in the world to achieve Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) listing in Australia.
Scientific literature shows that highly active antimicrobial honey from the nectar of particular Leptospermum trees has been used to successfully heal a wide variety of wounds and infections which have not responded to other
treatments.
Research conducted by Associate Professor Dr. P.C. Molan at University of Waikato Department of Biological Sciences in New Zealand, has shown that the antimicrobial component of the Leptospermum honey is particularly effective against virulent ‘Golden Staph’ (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria — even when diluted more than 50 times.
The use of honey as a wound dressing goes back to ancient times and has continued into present-day folk medicine. It is a common observation in medical journal reports that numerous benefits result from using honey to
dress wounds:
* The viscosity of honey provides a protective barrier to prevent wounds from becoming infected.
* Honey stimulates the re-growth of tissue involved in the healing process. It stimulates the formation of new blood capillaries and the growth of fibroblasts that replace the connective tissue of the deeper layer of the
skin and produce the collagen fibers that give strength to the repair.
* Honey does not stick to the underlying wound tissues, so there is no tearing away of newly formed tissue, and no pain, when dressings are changed.
* Honey has an anti-inflammatory action, which reduces the swelling around a wound. This improves circulation and thus hastens the healing process. It also reduces pain. The amount of fluid exuding from wounds is also decreased by the anti-inflammatory action.
* The high sugar content of honey draws lymph out of a wound, which lifts dirt out of the wound bed.
* Honey rapidly clears infection from wounds. It is fully effective even with antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Unlike antiseptics and antibiotics there is no impairment of the healing process through adverse effects on
wound tissues.
Honey researchers feel that the therapeutic potential of honey is grossly underutilized. It is widely available in most communities and although the mechanism of action of several of its properties remains obscure and needs
further investigation, the time has now come for conventional medicine to look at this traditional remedy. With increasing interest in the use of alternative therapies and as the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
spreads, honey may finally receive its due recognition.