Recently, scientists identified yet another natural substance as a powerful agent for healing deadly infections. According to respected researchers, manuka honey helps make bacterial infections less resistant to antibiotics. Because microbes with strong resistance are now seen frequently, manuka honey (MH) could well become a major tool for fighting infection and disease worldwide. Bee honey has been used as a traditional disinfectant the thousands of years. When pressed against an open wound, bee honey undergoes a chemical reaction that produces disinfectant hydrogen peroxide. This chemical reaction is one of the marvels of nature.
When scientists learned to mass-produce hydrogen peroxide and antibiotics, treating wounds with honey became far less common. Though derived from tree nectar, MH was long thought to use the same medicinal mechanism as bee honey. New Zealand Professor P. Molan dispelled this long-held notion. Back in the 1980s, Molan discovered that even after its hydrogen peroxide content was removed, MH continued to kill infections with ease. Despite the sensational nature of Molan's discovery, mainstream manuka research essentially stood still until 2008. That year, two independent laboratories found that MH contains methylglyoxal (MGO), a naturally occurring chemical that has powerful antimicrobial capabilities.
Further testing has shown that MH can destroy so-called "superbugs,"' which are defined as bacteria resistant to multiple types of antibiotics. Specifically, MH has great potential to treat the microbial causes of strep throat and staph infection. There couldn't be a better time for humanity to discover new ways to combat antibiotic resistance. For a variety of reasons, this is a grim time for those who specialize in fighting infectious diseases. Due to people relying too heavily on antibiotics, superbugs are becoming shockingly common. Crucially, scientists have never seen a single case where microbes have developed resistance to MH. Even after much effort in the laboratory, researchers have never been able to artificially induce such a resistance.
There are dozens of types of manuka trees with differing characteristics. Found in Australia and New Zealand, different manuka species have different concentrations of life-saving MGO. Above and beyond its powerful disinfectant properties, MH can reduce inflammation, reduce scarring and remove dead tissues from healing wounds. Though scientists are continuing to research MH, completed research has already vindicated the medicinal qualities of this substance. Considering the fact that MH is relatively affordable, more people should use MH to treat infections, ulcers and minor burns. When using MH medicinally, make sure to use sterile product.
It is strange and unfortunate that it took so many years for mainstream scientists to confirm the potency of MH. One has to wonder how many other natural remedies have been dismissed out of hand for far too long. Some commentators believe that medical researchers simply do not have the right incentives to investigate organic remedies. Because it grows freely in nature, natural medicine is less amenable to corporate control then chemical synthesized in a sophisticated laboratory. Perhaps it is only natural that most pharmaceutical companies would prefer to ignore natural compounds in their quest for profits. Nevertheless, it is clear that the natural world has a lot to offer humanity in terms of new medicines.