German research could boost honey nutraceuticals

Scientists from Bonn University in Germany have staged medical trials proving that certain honeys have strong medicinal qualities. It has fused two special honeys to treat skin injuries on children whose immune systems have been weakened through cancer therapies.

Claiming the honey has hastened healing in these cases, Kai Sofka, wound specialist at the university's children's clinic said: "Dead tissue is rejected faster, and the wounds heal more rapidly."

Bonn's "medihoneys" include one rich in the enzyme glucose-oxidase, which converts the sugar in honey into hydrogen peroxide. The second, leptospermum honey, produced in Australia and New Zealand, has strong antibacterial properties, said the resaerchers.