Active Manuka Honey: Antibacterial Activity

Basically, the antibacterial effect of honey is due to four major processes or qualities: The osmotic effect, the acidity of honey, the production of hydrogen peroxide in honey and the phytochemical factors.

1. The Osmotic Effect: Honey consists of 84% fructose and glucose (sugar) and 15-21% water. The sugar molecules and the water molecules interact strongly so that bacteria have not enough water available for growth.

2. Acidity: Honey has a pH between 3.2 and 4.5 and is considered quite acidic. This acidity therefore inhibits the growth of bacteria. The optimum pH for bacterial growth lies between 7.2 and 7.4. However, if honey is diluted, the pH could become higher, and therefore the antibacterial quality of honey would be destroyed. Paradoxically, dilution is what is needed in order to support the production of the next important antibacterial component in honey: hydrogen peroxide.

3. Hydrogen Peroxide: This antibacterial component is encymically produced in honey through dilution. Hydrogen peroxide is considered to be the most important antibacterial component of honey. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide in honey is low enough not to cause an inflammation of a wound or damage the tissue.

4. Phytochemical Factors: Besides regular honey's strongest anti-bacterial component (hydrogen peroxide), honey also contains some minor chemical factors of that quality. Exactly here lies the difference between the antibacterial qualities of Active Manuka Honey and Regular Honey!

Active Manuka Honey has shown to have a unique phytochemical factor, called UMF. The hydrogen peroxide and the UMF enhance each other's power through a synergetic effect. That makes Active Manuka Honey so powerful. The factor is very stable: hydrogen peroxide, which most honeys contain, is easily destroyed by heat, light, water or the catalase effect of the body serum. UMF however does not lose any of its antibacterial strength.