Science of Manuka

How it Works

All honey con­tains hydro­gen per­ox­ide in vary­ing lev­els. This is pro­duced when the bee adds enzymes to the nec­tar. In honey, hydro­gen per­ox­ide is released in a slow-release man­ner that is strong enough to be effec­tive in destroy­ing bac­te­ria but low enough to not harm tissue.

What makes Manuka dif­fer­ent and so unique is that it con­tains plant-derived com­po­nents such as methyl­gly­oxal – this is referred to as the Unique Manuka Fac­tor – this is, in turn what deter­mines the strength of the Manuka Honey, clas­si­fied on all the jars as the “Unique Manuka Fac­tor” or more recently as the “Molan Gold Stan­dard” (named after the dri­ving force behind the dis­cov­ery, research and growth of Manuka Honey – Pro­fes­sor Peter Molan). This is clas­si­fied on a ratio of 0–30. The most com­mon Cer­ti­fied Manuka fac­tors are from between 15+ and 20+ as any­thing below 10 is not con­sid­ered to be active and suit­able for ther­a­peu­tic use and is too low to have some desired effects, whereas any­thing above 20+ is con­sid­ered unnec­es­sary and an overkill.

Bac­te­ria have the abil­ity to mutate and become resis­tant to ele­ments that are attempt­ing to destroy them, such as antibi­otics. How­ever, Manuka Honey destroys bac­te­ria in a dif­fer­ent man­ner, by draw­ing water out of the bac­te­ria, mak­ing it impos­si­ble for the microbes to sur­vive. To date, there has been no reported bac­terium that has been able to develop a resis­tance to Manuka Honey.

Research has shown that Manuka Honey pro­vides an opti­mum germ-free moist wound-healing envi­ron­ment which sup­ports and facil­i­tates the nat­ural heal­ing of vari­cose and skin ulcers, dia­betic ulcers, pres­sure sores, wounds, burns, boils, cracked skin, cuts and grazes.

How Manuka Honey assists in wound healing:

• As it is antibac­te­r­ial, it rapidly clears infect­ing bac­te­ria, includ­ing antibiotic-resistant strains. 
• It dif­fuses deeply into skin tis­sues, so that it reaches deep-seated infections.
• It does not require oxy­gen, so it can remain effec­tive even when smoth­ered by wound dress­ings or in wound cavities.
• It cleans wounds, has a debrid­ing effect and the osmotic effect of honey lifts dirt out of the wound bed. 
• Dress­ings do not stick to the sur­face of the wound allow­ing easy removal of dressings.
• The osmotic effect of the honey keeps the wound moist, clean and pre­vents the dress­ing stick­ing to the wound. Tis­sue dam­age and pain are reduced when dress­ings are changed as there is no tear­ing away of newly formed tis­sue. Heal­ing is more rapid. 
• It reduces scar­ring. The honey draws body flu­ids and nutri­ents to the wound area and so assists cell growth and pre­vents a scar form­ing as the wound is kept moist.
• Honey pro­vides nutri­ents (vit­a­mins, min­er­als and amino acids) to tissues.
• It pro­motes more rapid heal­ing because the honey stim­u­lates tis­sue regen­er­a­tion.
  Angio­gen­e­sis is stim­u­lated new blood ves­sel growth giv­ing oxy­gen and nutri­ents to the tis­sues.
  Fibrob­last growth is stim­u­lated by hydro­gen per­ox­ide.
  Epithe­lial cell growth is stim­u­lated these cells grow level with the skin so that no scab is formed and so no scar­ring and hypertrophication.
• Acid­ity of honey releases oxy­gen from haemo­glo­bin new grow­ing cells need oxy­gen. Honey stim­u­lates the white blood cells. 
• Hydro­gen per­ox­ide in honey has an insulin-like effect and pro­motes wound healing. 
• Anti-inflammatory action of honey soothes and pro­motes heal­ing, reduces pain and swelling.
• Honey forms a pro­tec­tive bar­rier to pre­vent cross-infection of wounds.
• Honey removes mal­odour from wounds by killing the bac­te­ria which pro­duce ammonia.
• Honey does not dam­age the sur­round­ing tissue.
• Honey min­i­mizes the need for grafting.