Honey for Winnie!

When I saw "Honey NMR" on the laboratory sign up sheet, I immediately wrote down my name for that section. My choice wasn't based on my curiosity for the NMR machine, but more due to my love for sweet, sugary honey!

Tuesday's lab experience definitely satisfied my curiosity for NMR, and it also made me loo+k deeper in to the properties of honey. During lab, we were preparing honey samples for NMR analysis to identify which type of honey we each had. Though there were only Chestnut, Acacia, and Eucalyptus to choose from, I wondered if different types of honey have different properties and benefits. Honey can be classified as blended, polyfloral, monofloral, or honeydew. In each category, different types of flowers from different regions can be mixed or used individually to produce a variety of honeys.

From a research performed by Xu Kun and Ren Hong-lei, it was concluded that different honeys show different levels of antioxidant activities. Their research, The Study on Anti-oxygenation of Different Category Honey, shows that out of four different types of honey, two honeys have shown higher total phenolic content and antioxidant activity than the others. Furthermore, researchers from Mostaganem University have found that different honeys possess different levels of bacterial inhibition. The presence of hydrogen peroxide and powerful antioxidants in honey and its naturally low pH made it unsuitable for bacterial growth; with varying power, honeys may be potential therapeutic agents and used as antibacterial agents.

Different category of Honeys Acacia, Orange blossom, etc.

Though some of the researchers showed that different category of honeys did bring forth varying effects, they did not specify the exact differences. In traditional Chinese herb and medicine books, I have read about the different types of honey. Ancient medical recordings and recent studies show polyfloral honey can reduce toxins, Ziyun honey can have diuretic effects, Osmanthus honey can be used as medicine and reduce inflammation etc. There are lists of honeys made from different plants, each differing slightly in their effects. These slight differences can still make a big difference; if we understood the variances between different honeys, we would know exactly which one to intake depending on how we feel.

Honey is becoming more and more popular, especially in Asian markets; I see honey as the Asian version of olive oil in Italy, since people in Asia apply it daily to milk, bread, and even warm water! It has already become a habit for me to drink a cup of warm honey water when I wake up, for it is said to clear away toxins and strengthen the spleen. Letting honey in your daily life, and choosing the right honey for you at the right time, will definitely bring you a sweet and healthy life like Winnie's!

References:
"The Study on Anti-oxygenation of Different Category Honey" - Xu Kun, Ren Hong-lei.
"Antibacterial Activity of Various Honey Types of Algeria Against Pathogenic Gram - Negative Bacilli: Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa" - Ahmed Moussa et al.