Manuka honey may be liquid gold
The Land, 29 Oct, 2014
AUSTRALIAN beekeepers could be set for a boom, earning up to
$30 per kilogram for honey, if new research confirms honey produced from
various species of Australian manuka trees have antibacterial properties.
Honey is increasingly being used for the treatment of wounds
and skin infections due to its potent antibacterial and healing properties,
including major infections like Golden Staph, E-coli and superbugs which are
now becoming untreatable with modern antibiotics.
Currently, the majority of medical grade honey is sourced
from New Zealand, where two species of Leptospermum (the manuka tree) are
earning the industry an estimated $75 million a year. This is likely increase
to $1 billion over the next 10 years.
Australia has 83 different species of manuka, leaving the
door ajar for our beekeepers to seriously grow their profit margins if this
project can systematically identify which species make the most therapeutically
active honey and where they are located in Australia.
The research is being led by the ithree institute at the
University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). It is funded by the Rural Industries
Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Capilano Honey Ltd and Comvita
Ltd under the Honey Bee & Pollination R&D Program, which is jointly
funded by RIRDC and Horticultural Australia Limited (HAL)…
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