Indian honey has equal medicinal properties as the Manuka honey of New Zealand, believed to be of the best quality in the world.
Doctors from Nair Hospital tested the Indian honey on 226 patients and found that it had incredible healing properties. The findings were recently presented in the Second International Honey Conference in Malaysia.
Dr Sunita Deshpande of the hospital’s microbiology department and her six doctorate students tested nine types of Indian honeys. “We found all Indian honeys have almost equal properties as the New Zealand’s Manuka honey,” said Deshpande, who presented the research paper in the conference.
According to Deshpande, the antibacterial and anti-fungal properties of Jambhul honey were similar to those in Manuka honey. Therefore, they chose it to study its effect on patients. The study included patients with severe wounds including burns, cuts, diabetic foot, and those with sore throat and acne.
The wounds of patients were treated with dressing of sterilised Jambhul honey, sore throat patients were given small tubes filled with honey for intake and those with acne were asked to put the honey on the skin with medical gauze on it.
“Wounds of patients showed 90% healing within a week. Even deep injuries of those with diabetic foot healed within 15 days,” Deshpande said, adding that the patients experienced less pain and irritation as compared to the regular dressings.
Similarly, acne disappeared and there was no relapse recorded in 80% patients even after six months. Likewise, those with a sore throat experienced relief within a week, said Deshpande who has tested more than 15 types of Indian honeys in the past nine years.
According to Deshpande, medicinal properties of honey are being put to use in several countries like Malaysia, Romania and New Zealand.
“Despite having the best of honey, we have not yet realised its value,” Deshpande said, adding that Malaysians, for example, are testing honey products on AIDS patients as honey is the best immune modulator.
