Friday, April 04, 2008

Buckwheat Honey Antioxidant Activity May Help Wound Healing

An In Vitro Examination of the Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Buckwheat Honey
Journal of Wound Care, Vol. 17, Iss. 4, 27 Mar 2008, pp 172 - 178

Objective: Hydroxyl radical and hypochlorite anion formed at the wound site from superoxide anion produced by activated polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) are considered important factors in impaired wound healing. Superoxide anion may also react with nitric oxide produced by macrophages to form peroxynitrite, a third strong oxidant that damages surrounding tissue. In order to select honey for use in wound-healing products, different samples were compared for their capacity to reduce levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vitro…

Results: Although most honey samples were shown to be active, significant differences were observed, with the highly active honey exceeding the activities of samples with minor effects by factors of 4 to 30. Most pronounced activities were found for American buckwheat honey from the state of New York. Phenolic constituents of buckwheat honey were shown to have antioxidant activity.

Conclusion: As buckwheat honey was most effective in reducing ROS levels, it was selected for use in wound-healing products. The major antioxidant properties in buckwheat honey derive from its phenolic constituents, which are present in relatively large amounts. Its phenolic compounds may also exert antibacterial activity…

1 comment:

Jeff Chamberlain M.D. said...

Some researchers from Penn State have recently shown that Buckwheat honey is better then the OTC children’s cough medicines for children’s cough. There is a web site that talks about this, and gives lots of research to help parents be better informed about how to help their kids. Check out http://www.honeydontcough.com/

-Daddydoctor