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Editor’s Note: This article was submitted by Manuka Health New Zealand Limited Chief Executive Kerry Paul in response to an earlier statement by Professor Peter Molan, headlined “
MGO Level Not Good Indicator of Honey’s Antibacterial Activity,” published on Apitherapy News. Note also that the term "MGO" is trademarked.]
The ground-breaking research from Professor Henle’s research group published in
Journal of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research established for the first time methylglyoxal was responsible for the unique anti-bacterial activity of manuka honey. A later publication by the University of Waikato confirmed the Dresden discovery.
The significance of the University of Dresden research is consumers can now be informed about what is in the manuka honey they are consuming and given information about how it relates to anti-bacterial activity. The issue is about being honest with consumers and being transparent with the information provided.
MGO Manuka Honey is About Honesty and ClarityTesting for methylglyoxal content is a simple measurement of the chemical content in the honey so consumers can be sure the amount of the methylglyoxal content they are purchasing. University of Dresden research shows a minimum of 100mg/kg methylglyoxal is needed to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and other harmful bacteria. By showing the different methylglyoxal content on the label consumers can choose with reliability the methylglyoxal content they wish to purchase.
Manuka Health has launched a new certification system to explain this to consumers called MGO manuka honey. Simply, MGO 400 manuka honey means there is 400mg of methylglyoxal per kilogram of manuka honey which is easy for consumers to relate to. The higher the methylglyoxal content the higher the level of anti-bacterial activity.
Current systems have problems for consumers in getting reliable and meaningful information. These are the percentage rating systems used to describe anti-bacterial activity in relation to a common anti-septic using the agar diffusion assay. Most sellers of manuka honey and consumers cannot understand what the percentages mean.
Consumers Cannot Rely on Label Claims
The agar diffusion assay used to measure the anti-bacterial activity of honey is open to error and that is why medical researchers use the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) assay to present their research. The diffusion assay is based on the anti-bacterial activity of phenol the common antiseptic and the ratings for honey are based on the amount of phenol used in a solution to measure the activity. This works at its best between 10% and 18% for honey but is still subject to error. Outside this range the amount of potential error increases significantly. This is demonstrated in the Carbohydrate Research paper where the Comvita UMF30 (originally tested by a commercial laboratory) has been re-tested by university students at UMF27 (see Table 1 in the paper). Consumers cannot rely on the label stating accurately the anti-bacterial activity because the test method is not reliable.
It is a commonly accepted view by all those involved in using the agar diffusion assay for honey testing that the system needs significant improvement. For many years there has been widespread dissatisfaction with the reliability of results particularly over 18% solution of phenol.
Phenol Standards Meaningless for ConsumersUsing a comparative rating scale where the anti-bacterial activity of honey is linked to an equivalent solution of phenol is not an easy concept for consumers to comprehend. The main reason is consumers cannot relate to what does a 10% solution of phenol mean in terms of anti-bacterial activity and how other percentages of phenol relate to one other.
With MGO manuka honey consumers have for the first time a certification system able to provide them reliable information about what they are consuming.
Kerry PaulChief Executive
Manuka Health New Zealand Limited
kerry@manukahealth.co.nzCell +64-274504333
Ph +647 8706555
http://www.manukahealth.co.nz/