Research on manuka honey, already FDA-approved as a wound treatment in the USA, is ongoing as consumers are beginning to see multiple over-the-counter manuka honey-based pharmaceuticals on store shelves. These products are advertised to alleviate cold and flu symptoms—right in time for the colder season—and ease oral health issues, treat wounds, and more.

Physicians may hear questions about these products from patients, and may also want to consider recommending a few. But how does this substance actually help to alleviate the wide range of symptoms? Does the science behind manuka honey live up to the hype?

History and known benefits

Native to certain parts of Australia and New Zealand, manuka honey has been used by the Indigenous group known as the Māori for centuries. Taonga, meaning “treasure,” is the term that native New Zealanders use to refer to manuka honey in honor of its healing properties.

The ultimate guide to manuka honey and its benefits. Manukaguard.com. September 21, 2021.

Manuka honey differs from other types of honey as it is monofloral, meaning it’s derived from one type of flower—in this case, the manuka.

The honey can be used to help alleviate symptoms associated with a wide range of conditions—it's touted to improve oral hygiene by reducing plaque and preventing gingivitis, and soothe sore throats, acne, and ulcers, for example.

This monofloral substance is also approved by the FDA for treating wounds. Its antioxidant and antibacterial properties help speed up the healing process and prevent infections, as well as encourage tissue regeneration.

Hewett SR, Crabtrey SD, Dodson EE, Rieth CA, Tarkka RM, Naylor K. Both manuka and non-manuka honey types inhibit antibiotic resistant wound-infecting bacteria. Antibiotics. 2022;11(8):1132.

Helping to heal bedsores

To better understand the health value of manuka honey, MDLinx spoke with Gavin Gear, co-founder of ManukaGuard, a manufacturer of manuka honey products.

Gear discussed the honey’s healing power on bedsores.

“A simple way to address a bedsore is that it’s a wound, and it’s not getting worse, it’s not getting infected, and it’s not healing,” he said. “It’s stuck in an anti-inflammatory cycle. What’s missing is angiogenesis [the growth of new vessels and tissue].”

You put manuka honey in a wound, and within 3 days, you’re going to see new tissue, including blood vessels. It’ll heal that bedsore. And it’s not magic. It’s just what manuka honey does.

Beating the biofilms

Another unique aspect of manuka honey is how it interacts with biofilms in the human body.

According to an article published by AIMS Microbiology, researchers have had success combining manuka honey with antibiotics to treat chronic infections caused by biofilms.

Johnston M, McBride M, Dahiya D, et al. Antibacterial activity of manuka honey and its components: An overview. AIMS Microbiology. 2018;4(4):655–664.

Antibiotics, on the other hand, may be a much less effective treatment when used alone. The research therefore points to the possibility that manuka honey may play a central role in treating infections that are usually antibiotic-resistant. “We have multiple modes of action that manuka honey is well-known for," Gear commented. We know how manuka honey will attack bacteria. And this is why bacteria can't develop resistance. Meanwhile, [there are times when antibiotics] can't even get through biofilms to the bacteria,” Gear said.