Medicinal Western Australian Honey better than Manuka

I recently wrote and article about how modern science had finally discovered what ancient healers have known for centuries - that honey has some incredible healing properties.
Today I want to talk to you about the amazing  Australian Medicinal Honeys and in particular, those from Western Australia.

While many people have heard of the medicinal value of New Zealand's Manuka Honey, it has only recently come to light that many Australian Honeys are significantly more effective in healing wounds than their New Zealand counterpart.

A recent ABC news article explained that an Australian native myrtle honey had the highest level of anti-bacterial properties than any other honey (including Manuka Honey) in the world ref1.

And when it comes to WA honeys, our very own Red Gum (Marri), Jarrah and Karri Honeys also have a higher anti- bacterial effect than Manuka Honey.2

Honey from the red gum marri, jarrah and karri forests are particularly useful in wound care - because they have a high concentration of Glucose Oxidase which converts to a strong anti bacterial that helps to fight infection, encourages skin repair and soothes inflammation.

You see in a 2007 study of Australian honeys it was found that 18 of 19 Jarrah samples, all 3 Karri and 8 out of 9 samples of Marri (Red Gum) rated very high in anti-microbial activity - higher in fact than the much publicised Manuka Honey2.

The great news is that these particular honeys have been found to be very effective in the fight against MRSA - Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus - Golden Staph, which responds poorly to most antibiotics!

So it looks like here at Moon Haven we have been on the right track all along as we have been using both Red Gum honey and beeswax in many of our products since the day we opened our doors - over 10 years ago. We knew that the natural, raw honey and beeswax that we use was rich and nurturing to the skin ...that it gave extra benefits to our salves and ointments,  but now we have a little more insight as to what the exact mechanisms are and how it all works.

References

1.Honey study produces sweet result for medicine

Posted Tue Mar 1, 2011 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/01/3152286.htm

[2] Survey of the antimicrobial activity of Australian honey, Julie Irish, Dee Carter, Shona Blair School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences University of Sydney July, 2007