Food Chem Toxicol, 2013 Feb 16. pii: S0278-6915(13)00115-4
"Água-mel" is a honey-based product produced in
Portugal for ancient times. Several attributes have been reported to
"água-mel" particularly in the alleviation of simple symptoms of
upper respiratory tract.
Samples of "água-mel" from diverse beekeepers from
different regions of Portugal were studied in what concerns antimicrobial,
antioxidant and antiviral properties. The amounts of phenol and brown pigment
were also evaluated and correlated with the antioxidant activities. A great
variability on the levels of these compounds was found among samples which were
responsible for the variability detected also on the antioxidant activities,
independent on the method used.
Generally, antioxidant activity correlated better with brown
pigments' amount than with phenols' content. The antimicrobial activity found
for "água-mel" samples confirm the virtues reported by popular
findings. In addition, this work also reveals the antiviral properties of
"água-mel" evidenced by a decrease on the infectivity of the Qβ
bacteriophage.
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