Honey is among many of the natural products that have been used to treat various aliments such as burns and ulcers since ancient times. Honey is also applied to treat burns based on research carried out earlier. In Guyana, honey is mainly used for coughs and colds. This research was carried out during the year 2006-2007 to investigate the anti-fungal and antibacterial action of honey produced b...

BACKGROUND The Mount Huang eastern honey bees (Apis cerana) are an endemic population, which is well adapted to the local agricultural and ecological environment. In this study, the genetic structure of seven eastern honey bees (A. cerana) populations from Mount Huang in China were analyzed by SSR (simple sequence repeat) markers. RESULTS The results revealed that 16 pairs of primers used amp...

BACKGROUND Honey, a natural product of bees of the genera Apis and Meliponinae, has been recognized for medicinal properties since antiquity. Honey has demonstrated antimicrobial properties. These effects are variably ascribed to the pH, hydrogen peroxide content, osmotic effect, and as yet unidentified compounds putatively described as inhibines. MATERIALS AND METHODS This review will explor...

Honey is a natural substance with many medicinal properties, including antibacterial, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, antioxidant and antihypertensive effects. It reduces hyperglycemia in diabetic rats and humans. However, the mechanism(s) of its hypoglycemic effect remain(s) unknown. Honey comprises many constituents, making it difficult to ascertain which component(s) contribute(s) to its hyp...

I read the recent article by Zaid et al. (1) with great interest. Recent research has shown that tualang honey may have a number of systemic benefits in addition to its protective effect on bone structure in post-menopausal animal models. Tualang honey has considerable potential as an anti-cancer agent. For example, it exerts anti-proliferative activities against breast cancer tissue, attenuati...

Say the word “insect” and what comes to mind? I asked that question to nonentomology, first-year undergraduate students on the first day of class. The typical response: “Insects suck.” I suspect they were thinking of the suffering inflicted by mosquitoes and other bloodfeeding insects, crop damage caused by their vegetarian counterparts, and the invasion of human dwellings by cockroaches and te...

Highbush blueberry yields are dependent on pollination by bees, and introduction of managed honey bees is the primary strategy used for pollination of this crop. Complementary pollination services are also provided by wild bees, yet highbush blueberry is increasingly grown in regions outside its native range where wild bee communities may be less adapted to the crop and growers may still be tes...

BACKGROUND Honey is a gift of nature, principally identified and valued to possess antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity and has been used as a natural remedy of wounds since ancient times. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of honey against micro-organisms, to formulate a honey ointment and to evaluate the efficacy of such ointment by conducting cli...

BACKGROUND Honey is a highly nutritional natural product that has been widely used in folk medicine for a number of therapeutic purposes. We evaluated whether Malaysian Tualang honey (AgroMas, Malaysia) was effective in reducing menopausal syndrome in ovariectomised female rats; an animal model for menopause. METHODS The rats were divided into two control groups and three test groups. The con...

The challenge of wound care within the primary care setting relates to two key areas: healing or managing symptoms. While the objective would ideally be healing, chronic wound management hinges on managing symptoms. Honey has been used historically for its therapeutic properties, including, the promotion of rapid wound healing, reducing oedema, debriding necrotic tissue, reducing inflammation, ...