Dubai Festival Features Medicinal Honey

Beeline for Honey
Khaleej Times (UAE), 2/7/2009

DUBAI - Cosmetics made from honey mixtures and medicinal honey are attracting huge crowds at the Honey Festival being held at Al Seef Street as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival 2009 (DSF).
 The Honey Festival, an exhibition and sale of different honey products from around the world, will continue till February 13. It is open between 5pm and 10pm.

Around 15 local vendors are displaying honey products from Yemen, Lebanon, Pakistan, Iran and other countries. Visitors can taste from a variety of honey samples before buying and go through a number of information pamphlets on the benefits of honey including its antibacterial properties…

Honey Heals Faster Than Conventional Wound Dressing

Standardized Antibacterial Honey (Medihoney™) with Standard Therapy in Wound Care: Randomized Clinical Trial
Journal of Advanced Nursing, Volume 65 Issue 3, Pages 565 – 575, Published Online: 3 Feb 2009

Aim. This paper is a report of a study to compare a medical grade honey with conventional treatments on the healing rates of wounds healing by secondary intention.

Background. There is an increasing body of evidence to support the use of honey to treat wounds, but there is a lack of robust randomized trials on which clinicians can base their clinical judgement.

Method. A sample of 105 patients were involved in a single centre, open-label randomized controlled trial in which patients received either a conventional wound dressing or honey. Data were collected between September 2004 and May 2007.

Results. The median time to healing in the honey group was 100 days compared with 140 days in the control group. The healing rate at 12 weeks was equal to 46·2% in the honey group compared with 34·0% in the conventional group, and the difference in the healing rates (95% confidence interval, CI) at 12 weeks between the two groups was 12·2% (−13·6%, 37·9%). The unadjusted hazard ratio (95% CI) from a Cox regression was equal to 1·30 (0·77, 2·19), P = 0·321. When the treatment effect was adjusted for confounding factors (sex, wound type, age and wound area at start of treatment), the hazard ratio increased to 1·51 but was again not statistically significant.

Conclusion. Wound area at start of treatment and sex are both highly statistically significant predictors of time to healing. These results support the proposition that there are clinical benefits from using honey in wound care, but further research is needed.

Honey Contains High Levels of Phenolics and Flavonoids

Characterisation of the Phenolic and Flavonoid Fractions and Antioxidant Power of Italian Honeys of Different Botanical Origin
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Volume 89 Issue 4, Pages 609 – 616, Published Online: 6 Jan 2009

Background: Twenty-seven Italian honey samples of different floral origin were analysed for total phenolic and flavonoid contents by a spectrophotometric method and for antioxidant power and radical-scavenging activity by the ferric-reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays respectively. In addition, the phenolic and flavonoid profiles were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (HPLC-UV).

Results: The results of this study showed that honey contains copious amounts of phenolics and flavonoids. HPLC-UV analysis showed a similar qualitative polyphenolic profile for all honey samples analysed. The main difference among samples was in the contribution of individual analytes, which was affected by floral origin. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents varied from 60.50 to 276.04 mg gallic acid equivalent kg-1 and from 41.88 to 211.68 mg quercetin equivalent kg-1 respectively. The antioxidant capacity was high and differed widely among samples. The FRAP value varied from 1.265 to 4.396 mmol Fe2+ kg-1, while the radical-scavenging activity expressed as DPPH-IC50 varied from 7.08 to 64.09 mg mL-1. Correlations between the parameters analysed were found to be statistically significant.

Conclusion: The present study shows that honey contains high levels of phenolics and flavonoids and that the distribution of these compounds is influenced by the honey's floral origin.

Propolis Component Suppresses Growth of Neurofibromatosis Tumors

CAPE (Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester)-Based Propolis Extract (Bio 30) Suppresses the Growth of Human Neurofibromatosis (Nf) Tumor Xenografts in Mice
Phytotherapy Research, Volume 23, Issue 2, Date: February 2009, Pages: 226-230

Dysfunction of the NF1 gene coding a RAS GAP is the major cause of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), whereas neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is caused primarily by dysfunction of the NF2 gene product called merlin that inhibits directly PAK1, an oncogenic Rac/CDC42-dependent Ser/Thr kinase.

It was demonstrated previously that PAK1 is essential for the growth of both NF1 and NF2 tumors. Thus, several anti-PAK1 drugs, including FK228 and CEP-1347, are being developed for the treatment of NF tumors. However, so far no effective NF therapeutic is available on the market.

Since propolis, a very safe healthcare product from bee hives, contains anticancer ingredients called CAPE (caffeic acid phenethyl ester) or ARC (artepillin C), depending on the source, both of which block the oncogenic PAK1 signaling pathways, its potential therapeutic effect on NF tumors was explored in vivo.

Here it is demonstrated that Bio 30, a CAPE-rich water-miscible extract of New Zealand (NZ) propolis suppressed completely the growth of a human NF1 cancer called MPNST (malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor) and caused an almost complete regression of human NF2 tumor (Schwannoma), both grafted in nude mice. Although CAPE alone has never been used clinically, due to its poor bioavailability/water-solubility, Bio 30 contains plenty of lipids which solubilize CAPE, and also includes several other anticancer ingredients that seem to act synergistically with CAPE.

Thus, it would be worth testing clinically to see if Bio 30 and other CAPE-rich propolis are useful for the treatment of NF patients.

Stimulus Bill Includes $150 Million for Honeybee Insurance

"Your World With Neil Cavuto," February 4, 2009

Neil Cavuto, Host: All right, back to the stimulus bill.

And the part that has everyone buzzing — in fact, I have been talking about it every night — this 150 billion bucks for honeybee insurance. People were wondering, I was wondering, how the heck that creates jobs.

So, we thought we would ask a beekeeper to explain this to us. Joining us now is a beekeeper, David Burns…

Honey and Health

Valentine's Day Feast: Honey for Your Honey
Neil Zevnik, Huffington Post, 2/5/2009

The amazing benefits to be found in honey have less to do with nutritional values and more to do with antioxidant and anti-microbial properties that are unique to this natural sweetener. Honey is not a significant source of vitamins and minerals, but it contains several compounds that are thought to function as antioxidants, including two specific phytonutrients that have been shown to shut down the activity of colon cancer-causing enzymes.

It appears that a strange and wonderful synergy is created by the combination of the nectar from the flowers, enzymes in the bees' saliva, and propolis or "bee glue", which produces results greater than the sum of its parts. The First International Symposium of Honey & Human Health in January of 2008 presented research papers that included findings that suggested that large amounts of "friendly bacteria" may account for honey's therapeutic properties, that honey may improve blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity, and that honey is a more effective cough suppressant in children than the widely-used popular medicine dextromethorphan.

[Important Note: honey should never be given to infants under one year of age; botulism spores may be present, causing bacterial infections in the intestinal tract.]

Another traditional use of honey is as a dressing for wounds, and research is now figuring out exactly why it is so incredibly effective - again, a unique combination of ingredients that dry out the wound and provide anti-bacterial and antiseptic benefits. Honey reduces odors, swelling, and scarring; in fact, a recent study in India involving burn patients found that honey was vastly superior to conventional treatments in suppressing infection and speeding healing. Sweet indeed!

And let us not neglect to mention that honey has been used for centuries as a natural, fragrant and wholly pleasing beauty treatment, due to its humectant qualities and silky feel. It is said that Cleopatra herself owed much of her legendary beauty to a daily infusion of golden honey...

Propolis Boosts Disease Resistance in Fish

Propolis and Herba Epimedii Extracts Enhance the Non-Specific Immune Response and Disease Resistance of Chinese Sucker, Myxocyprinus asiaticus
Fish & Shellfish Immunology, 2009 Jan 28

The effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulated from propolis and Herba Epimedii extracts at the ratio of 3:1 (w/w) on non-specific immune response of Chinese sucker (Myxocyprinus asiaticus) was investigated.

Fish were fed diets containing 0 (control), 0.1%, 0.5% or 1.0% TCM extracts for five weeks. The respiratory burst and phagocytic activities of blood leukocytes, lysozyme and natural haemolytic complement activities in plasma were measured weekly.

After five weeks of feeding, fish were infected with Aeromonas hydrophila and mortalities were recorded. Results of this study showed that feeding Chinese sucker with different dosage of TCM extracts stimulated respiratory burst activity, phagocytosis of phagocytic cells in blood and lysozyme activity in plasma. They had no effect on plasma natural haemolytic complement activity. All dosage of treated groups showed reduced mortality following A. hydrophila infection.

Feed containing 0.5% TCM extracts was the most effective with the mortality of the fish significantly reduced by 35% compared to the control.

The results indicate that propolis and Herba Epimedii extracts in combination enhances the non-specific immune response and disease resistance of Chinese sucker against A. hydrophila.

New Manuka Honey Antibacterial Rating Being Developed

Is Your Manuka Honey Really Worth the Money?
By Jerome Burne, Daily Mail (UK), 2/2/2009

Over the past few years, manuka honey from New Zealand has earned a reputation as a bit of a wonder treatment.

Research has shown that the honey - produced by bees who feed off the manuka bush - has powerful antibiotic properties and can help combat MRSA, fight infections, reduce wound inflammation and help with skin conditions such as acne and eczema.

But there are so many brands available, at vastly different prices (you can pay anything from £5 to £35 for a pot), how do you know which one really packs a good bacterial punch? And does spending more guarantee a better product?

Until about a year ago, the solution would have been to rely on the honey's Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) rating (they range from 10 to 25). The higher the rating, the more potent - and usually more expensive - the honey.

But according to some manuka honey manufacturers, this UMF system is unreliable. The ratings are made by the Active Manuka Honey Association (AMHA) which compares a batch of honey against the bacteria-killing ability of different concentrations of a standard disinfectant.

'But two tests done at different times on the same batch of honey can give very different results,' alleges Kerry Paul, chief executive of Manuka Health, one of the 'rebel' honey manufacturers.

The AMHA retorts that results vary only by a few points and, anyway, it takes this into account when rating the honey.

But Mr Paul believes there's a better way - by measuring methylglyoxal (MGO) content. This compound is found in high concentrations in manuka honey - up to 100 times greater than ordinary honey - according to German researchers, and is thought to give it its antiseptic edge.

Some manufacturers are now switching to Mr Paul's new system of ratings. To add to the confusion, there is a third rating out there - the label on the honey contains the word 'active', followed by a number (from 10 to 25). But the MGO and UMF camps agree this 'active' rating has no scientific basis and is not regulated.

Later this year a fourth standard is due to appear - developed by Dr Peter Molan, head of honey research at Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand. Although he's not yet willing to divulge the details, it seems to be an upgrade of the UMF rating - which he originally devised and even he claims needs changing…

A Spoonful of Manuka Honey is the Best Medicine

Galway Advertiser (Ireland), 2/5/2009

Most of us have heard of the new miracle remedy called Manuka honey. Manuka honey is made by bees that collect nectar from the manuka bush which grows wild in New Zealand. Manuka honey has traditionally been used for its health benefits and is renowned for warding off infections, and promoting natural healing and general wellbeing. The honey has been researched for decades, but only recently has a team of researchers from Germany identified its active ingredient, called methylglyoxal.

Methylglyoxal (MGO) is a naturally occurring antibacterial agent. It can be measured by laboratory test and is expressed as “MGO” with a number indicating its strength. This strength usually varies between MGO100 and MGO400. To ensure antibacterial activity, only MGO Manuka honey available in health stores should be purchased.

Manuka honey’s antibacterial activity has been proven by researchers the world over, it works wonders for infected wounds, leg ulcers, stomach infections, and stubborn colds. Manuka dressings are already being used in many hospitals today. Recently, the Sligo Institute of Technology has joined the ranks of this research and is now collaborating with a US based pharmaceutical manufacturer to bring its research to the public. Several studies prove Manuka honey’s ability to kill MRSA in vitro, which is a major advantage…

Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course & Conference - CMACC 2009

What: 15th annual apitherapy training and conference of the American Apitherapy Society takes a look at the science of ancient healing treatments using bee sting therapy and all beehive products

When: April 17-19, 2009

Where: DoubleTree Guest Suites, Tampa, Florida

Contact: Visit www.apitherapy.org or call (631) 470 9446

Friday, April 17, will provide attendees with a basic training in the therapeutic properties of each of the hive products – honey, pollen, propolis and royal jelly, and will include a hands-on bee venom therapy clinic Friday night.

Presentations on apitherapy protocols for conditions such as lyme disease, cancer, auto-immune diseases, mental disorders, and others will take place all day Saturday, April 18.

Propolis Effective in Controlling Dental Infections

In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Endodontic Pastes with Propolis Extracts and Calcium Hydroxide: A Preliminary Study
Brazilian Dental Journal, 2008;19(4):301-5

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of two experimental pastes containing propolis extract associated with calcium hydroxide against polymicrobial cultures collected from 16 necrotic and fistulae root canals in primary molars of 4-8-year-old children of both sexes.

The agar-well diffusion technique was used to determine the antimicrobial activity of the following pastes: 11.0% ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) + calcium hydroxide; and 11.0% extract of propolis without ethanol (EP) + calcium hydroxide. EEP, EP and the association of calcium hydroxide and propylene glycol (CHP) was used as the positive control groups, and propylene glycol was used as a negative control group.

Friedman and Wilcoxon tests were used to compare the data from the microbial growth inhibition zones. Paste 1 and Paste 2 showed larger growth inhibition zones against microorganisms from root canal samples than CHP. Paste 2 tended to have larger growth inhibition zones than Paste 1.

The association between propolis and calcium hydroxide was effective in controlling dental infections in vitro.

Bee Venom Component Helps Kill Cancer Cells

Melittin, a Major Component of Bee Venom, Sensitizes Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells to Tumor Necrosis Factor-related Apoptosis-inducing Ligand (TRAIL)-induced Apoptosis by Activating CaMKII-TAK1-JNK/p38 and Inhibiting IB Kinase-NFB
J. Biol. Chem, Vol. 284, Issue 6, 3804-3813, February 6, 2009

Promoting apoptosis is a strategy for cancer drug discovery. Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in a wide range of malignant cells. However, several cancers, including human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), exhibit a major resistance to TRAIL-induced cell death.

Melittin, a water-soluble 26-amino acid peptide derived from bee venom of Apis mellifera, can exert toxic or inhibitory effects on many types of tumor cells. Here we report that melittin can induce apoptosis of HCC cells by activating Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase, transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1), and JNK/p38 MAPK…

In the presence of melittin, TRAIL-induced apoptosis is significantly increased in TRAIL-resistant HCC cells, which may be attributed to melittin-induced TAK1-JNK/p38 activation and melittin-mediated inhibition of IB kinase-NFB.

Our data suggest that melittin can synergize with TRAIL in the induction of HCC cell apoptosis by activating the TAK1-JNK/p38 pathway but inhibiting the IB kinase-NFB pathway.

Therefore, the combination of melittin with TRAIL may be a promising therapeutic approach in the treatment of TRAIL-resistant human cancer.

Honey Helps Heal Radiotherapy-Impaired Wounds

Using Leptospermum Honey to Manage Wounds Impaired By Radiotherapy: A Case Series
Ostomy Wound Management, 2009 Jan;55(1):38-47

Radiation-induced tissue injury and wounds with radiation-impaired healing are traumatic for patients and challenging for their caregivers. Standardized management approaches do not exist.

The effect of Leptospermum honey as a primary dressing for managing these wounds was assessed in four patients (age range 63 to 93 years) who had previously undergone radiotherapy that left them with fragile friable areas of damaged skin that did not respond to conventional treatment.

Compromised areas involved the neck, cheek, groin/perineum, and chest. In patients 1 and 2, after topical application of honey via hydrofiber rope and nonadhesive foam, respectively, improvements in the size and condition of wound/periwound area and a reduction in pain were noted before death or loss to follow-up.

After including honey in the treatment regimen of patients 3 and 4, complete healing was noted in 2.5 weeks (with honey and paraffin) and 6 weeks (with honey-soaked hydrofiber rope), respectively. No adverse events were reported. Honey as an adjunct to conventional wound/skin care post radiation therapy shows promise for less painful healing in these chronic wounds. Prospective, randomized, controlled clinical studies are needed to confirm these observations…

Discussion:

Four patients with radiotherapy-impaired wounds and compromised skin received care that included medical grade honey. In all cases, a change from conventional dressings to the topical application of honey was followed by a noticeable improvement in healing. It is not possible to report complete healing in all examples because Patient 1 (Mr. G) died and Patient 2 (Ms. H) was lost to follow-up but the latter reported a noticeable reduction in pain once honey was introduced. No adverse events were observed and even though Patient 3 (Ms. J) had type 2 diabetes, daily honey applications to her wound had no adverse effect on her blood sugar levels. All patients readily accepted honey as a dressing for their wounds…

Bee Venom Used to Treat Arthritis, MS, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Can Bee Stings Treat Disease? An Apitherapy Practitioner Says Yes
By Tom Keyser, Times Union (USA), 1/31/2009

Walter Blohm has shown his slides and explained the therapy, and now it's time. He approaches an audience member who has just volunteered how he still has discomfort from rotator-cuff surgery.

"I'll show you how we do it," Blohm says. "You ready to get stung?"

The man looks Blohm straight in the eyes.

"Bring it on," he says.

This is what the nearly 100 people attending Monday's regular meeting of the Southern Adirondack Beekeepers Association in Ballston Spa have come to see. Blohm, the guest speaker, has driven up in his Frontier pickup with NYCHONEY license plates from Queens, where he has for 18 years practiced apitherapy, or bee-sting therapy…

He learned apitherapy from Charles Mraz, the country's leading advocate for bee-sting therapy. Mraz died in 1999 at home in Middlebury, Vt., frustrated at the lack of acceptance by the medical community of bee venom as a viable treatment for arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders.

For this story calls were placed to numerous medical associations, public and private, including the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians and the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Media specialists said no information about bee-sting therapy was available…

He's one of maybe two dozen apitherapists in the country, he says. However, he says, it's impossible to estimate how many people practice or receive bee-sting therapy, because many do it privately.

Blohm performed it first on his wife 20 years ago after meeting Mraz at a bee conference. Blohm's wife had arthritis in one knee from a skiing accident.

"She wasn't too happy about it in the beginning," Blohm says. "But after that, she was thrilled. She had no more pain."

Blohm learned more about bee-sting therapy from the AAS before offering to treat others, he says. It works — when it works, he says — by stimulating the immune system and drawing blood to the diseased or wounded area. Some doctors inject venom extracted from bees, but that venom, Blohm says, is less potent.

Venom from honeybees contains more than 40 active substances, according to alternative-medicine publications. The most abundant is an anti-inflammatory called melittin. It causes the body to produce cortisol, an agent of the body's own healing process, the publications say. Other substances in bee venom include apamin, which enhances nerve transmission, and adolapin, an anti-inflammatory and analgesic.

The treatments don't help everybody, but, Blohm says, he has helped people with arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, gout and chronic fatigue syndrome…

Ugandan President Recommends Production of Apitherapy Products

'Mint Money From Processed Honey'
By Alice Kiingi, The New Vision (Uganda), 1/29/2009

Honey producers have been urged to embrace value addition to benefit from the ready global market. President Yoweri Museveni made the call in a December 2008 ApiExpo Africa report released by the Ssemwanga Centre for Agriculture and Food, recently.

Museveni noted that bee farmers export honey to Europe poorly packaged fetching low prices, but in a supermarket like TESCO in the UK, a kilogramme of honey costs 10 pounds (about sh30,000) or more.

“With value addition the extracted bee venom would be $100 per kilogramme, brood at $74, pollen at $15 and royal jelly at $100…