Abstract
The paper presents information concerning the beneficial and harmful effects of honey on human health. Selected therapeutic properties and components responsible for the antibiotic activity of honey are discussed, along with the impact of different factors and technological treatments on these properties. This paper also presents methods applied in the analyses of antioxidant and antibacterial properties of bee products. The purpose of the following study is to present a review of the health properties of honey and the effect of various factors on these properties. Honey is a valuable product because of its nutritional and health properties. It should be noted, however, that individual botanical varieties of honey exhibit different levels of nutritional and health properties, including antibacterial properties.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdulrhman M, El Hefnawy M, Ali R, Abdel Hamid I, Abou El-Goud A, Refai D (2013) Effects of honey, sucrose and glucose on blood glucose and C-peptide in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Complement Ther Clin Pract 19(1):15–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2012.08.002
Alqarni AS, Owayss AA, Mahmoud AA (2012) Mineral content and physical properties of local and imported honeys in Saudi Arabia. J Saudi Chem Soc 18(5):618–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2012.11.009
Alvarez-Suarez JM, Tulipani S, Romandini S, Bertoli E, Battino M (2010) Contribution of honey in nutrition and human health: a review. Mediterr J Nutr Metab 3:15–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12349-009-0051-6
Al-Waili N, Salom K, Al-Ghamdi A, Ansari MJ (2012) Antibiotic, pesticide, and microbial contaminants of honey: human health hazards. Sci World J 2012(930849):9. https://doi.org/10.1100/2012/930849
Al-Waili N, Al Ghamdi A, Javed Ansari M, Al-Attal Y, Al-Mubarak A, Salom K (2013a) Differences in composition of honey samples and their impact on the antimicrobial activities against drug multiresistant bacteria and pathogenic fungi. Orig Res Article Arch Med Res 44(4):307–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arcmed.2013.04.009
Al-Waili N, Salom K, Al-Ghamdi A, Ansari MJ, Al-Waili A, Al-Waili T (2013b) Honey and cardiovascular risk factors, in normal individuals and in patients with diabetes mellitus or dyslipidemia. J Med Food 16(1):1063–1078. https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2012.0285
Anthimidou E, Mossialos D (2013) Antibacterial activity of Greek and Cypriot honeys against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in comparison to manuka honey. J Med Food 16(1):42–47. https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2012.0042
Ávila S, Beux MR, Hoffmann Ribani R, Zambiazi RC (2018) Stingless bee honey: quality parameters, bioactive compounds, health promotion properties and modification detection strategies. Trends Food Sci Technol 81:37–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2018.09.002
Balouiri M, Sadiki M, Ibnsouda SK (2016) Methods for in vitro evaluating antimicrobial activity: a review. J Pharm Anal 6(2):71–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpha.2015.11.005
Bargańska Ż, Ślebioda M, Namieśnik J (2011) Determination of antibiotic residues in honey. TrAC Trends Anal Chem 30(7):1035–1041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2011.02.014
Battino M, Giampieri F, Cianciosi D, Ansary J, Chen X, Zhang D, Gil E, Forbes-Hernández T (2021) The roles of strawberry and honey phytochemicals on human health: a possible clue on the molecular mechanisms involved in the prevention of oxidative stress and inflammation. Phytomedicine 86:153170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153170
Bilandžić N, Đokić M, Sedak M, Kolanović BS, Varenina I, Končurat A, Rudan N (2011) Determination of trace elements in Croatian floral honey originating from different regions. Food Chem 128(4):1160–1164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.04.023
Brudzynski K, Kim L (2011) Storage-induced chemical changes in active components of honey de-regulate its antibacterial activity. Food Chem 126:1155–1163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.11.151
Brudzynski K, Miotto D (2010) The recognition of high molecular weight melanoidins as the main components responsible for radical-scavenging capacity of unheated and heat-treated Canadian honeys. Food Chem 125:575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.09.049
Bucekova M, Juricova V, Di Marco G, Gismondi A, Leonardi D, Canini A, Majtan J (2018) Effect of thermal liquefying of crystallised honeys on their antibacterial activities. Food Chem 269:335–341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.07.012
Bucekova M, Jardekova L, Juricova V, Bugarova V, Di Marco G, Gismondi A, Leonardi D, Farkasovska J, Godocikova J, Laho M, Klaudiny J, Majtan V, Canini A, Majtan J (2019) Antibacterial activity of different blossom honeys: new findings. Moleculs 24(8):1573. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24081573
Bugarova V, Godocikova J, Bucekova M, Brodschneider R, Majtan J (2021) Effects of the carbohydrate sources nectar, sucrose and invert sugar on antibacterial activity of honey and bee-processed syrups. Antibiotics 10:985. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10080985
Cao G, Alessio H, Cutler R (2013) Comparative analysis of antioxidant activity of honey of different floral sources using recently developed polarographic and various spectrophotometric assays. J Food Compos Anal 30(1):13–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2012.12.004
Chirife J, Zamora MC, Motto A (2006) The correlation between water activity and % moisture in honey: fundamental aspects and application to Argentine honeys. J Food Eng 72(3):287–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2004.12.009
Cianciosi D, Forbes-Hernández TY, Ansary J, Gil E, Amici A, Bompadre S, Simal-Gandara J, Giampieri F, Battino M (2020) Phenolic compounds from Mediterranean foods as nutraceutical tools for the prevention of cancer: the effect of honey polyphenols on colorectal cancer stem-like cells from spheroids. Food Chem 325:126881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126881
DebMandal M, Mandal S (2011) Honey: its medicinal property and antibacterial activity. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 1(2):154–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2221-1691(11)60016-6
Elbanna K, Attalla K, Elbadry M, Abdeltawab A, Gamal-Eldin H, Ramadan MF (2014) Impact of floral sources and processing on the antimicrobial activities of different unifloral honeys. Asian Pac J Trop Dis 4(3):194–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2222-1808(14)60504-1
Erdoğrul Ö (2007) Levels of selected pesticides in honey samples from Kahramanmaraş. Turkey Food Control 18(7):66–871. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7957431
Escuredo O, Inmaculada González-Martín M, Shantal Rodríguez-Flores M, Carmen SM (2015) Near infrared spectroscopy applied to the rapid prediction of the floral origin and mineral content of honeys. Food Chem 170:47–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.08.061
Eteraf-Oskouei T, Najafi M (2013) Traditional and modern uses of natural honey in human diseases – a review. Iran J Basic Med Sci 16(6):731–742
Famularo CA (2009) Infantile botulism: clinical manifestations, treatment, and the role of the nurse practitioner. J Nurse Pract 5(5):335–343
Farkasovska J, Bugarova V, Godocikova J, Majtan V, Majtan J (2019) The role of hydrogen peroxide in the antibacterial activity of different floral honeys. Eur Food Res Technol 45:2739–2744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-019-03393-y
Fields BA, Reeve J, Bartholomaeus A, Mueller U (2014) Human pharmacokinetic study of tutin in honey; a plant-derived neurotoxin. Food Chem Toxicol 72:234–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2014.07.032
Fu Z, Gilbert ER, Liu D (2013) Regulation of insulin synthesis and secretion and pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction in diabetes. Curr Diabetes Rev 9(1):25–53
Galarini R, Saluti G, Giusepponi D, Rossi R, Moretti S (2015) Multiclass determination of 27 antibiotics in honey. Food Control 48:12–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2017.1393107
Garcia NL (2018) The current situation on the international honey market. Bee World 95(3):89–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/0005772X.2018.1483814
Gholami Z, Sohrabi Z, Zare M, Pourrajab B, Nasimi N. (2021) The effect of honey on lipid profiles: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials. Brit J Nutr 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114521002506
Godocikova J, Bugarova V, Kast C, Majtan V, Majtan J (2019) Antibacterial potential of Swiss honeys and characterisation of their bee-derived bioactive compounds. J Sci Food Agric 100:335–342. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10043
Gorjanović S, Alvarez-Suarez JM, Novakowić MM, Pastor FT, Pezo L, Bation M, Sužnjević DŽ (2013) Comparative analysis of antioxidant activity of honey of different floral sources using recently developed polarographic and various spectrophotometric assays. J Food Compos Anal 30(1):13–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2012.12.004
Grenda T, Grabczak M, Sieradzki Z, Kwiatek K, Pohorecka K, Skubida M, Bober A (2018) Clostridium botulinum spores in Polish honey samples. J Vet Sci 19(5):635–642. https://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2018.19.5.635
Hołderna-Kędzia E, Ostrowski-Meissner H, Kędzia B (2008) Ocena aktywności antybiotycznej nowozelandzkiego miodu manuka metodą rozcieńczeń seryjnych w podłożu płynnym. Postępy Fitoterapii 2:70–75
Jia Q, Yu S, Cheng N, Wu L, Jia J, Xue X, Cao W (2014) Stability of nitrofuran residues during honey processing and nitrofuran removal by macroporous adsorption resins. Food 162:110–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.04.046
Kafantaris I, Amoutzias GD, Mossialos D (2021a) Foodomics in bee product research: a systematic literature review. Eur Food Res Technol 247:309–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-020-03634-5
Kafantaris I, Tsadila C, Nikolaidis M, Tsavea E, Dimitriou TG, Iliopoulos I, Amoutzias GD, Mossialos D (2021b) Transcriptomic analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa response to pine honey via RNA sequencing indicates multiple mechanisms of antibacterial activity. Foods 10:936. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10050936
Karapetsas A, Voulgaridou G-P, Iliadi D, Tsochantaridis I, Michail P, Kynigopoulos S, Lambropoulou M, Stavropoulou M-I, Stathopoulou K, Karabournioti S, Aligiannis N, Gardikis K, Galanis A, Panayiotidis MI, Pappa A (2020) Honey extracts exhibit cytoprotective properties against UVB-induced photodamage in human experimental skin models. Antioxidants 9(7):566. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox9070566
Karyakina EE, Vokhmyanina DV, Sizova NV, Sabitov AN, Borisova AV, Sazontova TG, Arkhipenko YV, Tkachuk VA, Zolotov YA, Karyakin AA (2009) Kinetic approach for evaluation of total antioxidant activity. Talanta 80(2):749–753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2009.07.059
Koluman A, Melikoğlu Gölcü B, Derin O, Özkök S, Anniballi F. (2013) Clostridium botulinum in honey: prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of isolated strains. Turk J Vet Anim Sci 37: 706-711. https://doi.org/10.3906/vet-1209-40
Koulis GA, Tsagkaris AS, Aalizadeh R, Dasenaki ME, Panagopoulou EI, Drivelos S, Halagarda M, Georgiou CA, Proestos C, Thomaidis NS (2021) Honey phenolic compound profiling and authenticity assessment using HRMS targeted and untargeted metabolomics. Molecules 26(9):2769. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26092769
Kowalski S (2013) Changes of antioxidant activity and formation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in honey during thermal and microwave processing. Food Chem 141(2):1378–1382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.04.025
Kujawski MW, Namieśnik J (2011) Levels of 13 multi-class pesticide residues in Polish honeys determined by LC-ESI-MS/MS. Food Control 22(6):914–919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2010.11.024
Kulek de Andrade C, Egéa dos Anjos V, Lurdes Felsner M, Reyes Torres Y, Pércio QS (2014) Direct determination of Cd, Pb and Cr in honey by slurry sampling electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Food Chem 146:166–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.09.065
Küplülü Ö, Göncüoğlu M, Özdemir H, Koluman A (2006) Incidence of Clostridium botulinum spores in honey in Turkey. Food Control 17:222–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2004.10.004
Kurtoglu AB, Yavuz R, Evrendilek GA (2014) Characterisation and fate of grayanatoxins in mad honey produced from Rhododendron ponticum nectar. Food Chem 161:47–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.03.127
Kuś PM, Congiu F, Teper D, Sroka Z, Jerković I, Tuberoso CIG (2014) Antioxidant activity, color characteristics, total phenol content and general HPLC fingerprints of six Polish unifloral honey types. LWT Food Sci Technol 55(1):124–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2013.09.016
Leeder J. (2011) Honey laundering: the sour side of nature’s golden sweetener. Globe and Mail.
Leyva-Jimenez FJ, Lozano-Sanchez J, Borras-Linares I, Cadiz-Gurrea M, Mahmoodi-Khaledi E (2019) Potential antimicrobial activity of honey phenolic compounds against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. LWT Food Sci Technol 101:236–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2018.11.01.5
López DR, Ahumada DA, Díaz AC, Guerrero JA (2014) Evaluation of pesticide residues in honey from different geographic regions of Colombia. Food Control 37:33–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2013.09.011
López-Laso E, Roncero-Sánchez-Cano I, Arce-Portillo E, Ley-Martos M, Aguirre-Rodríguez J, García-Ron A, Mora-Navarro D, Méndez-García M, Camino-León R (2014) Infant botulism in Andalusia (Southern Spain). Eur J Pediatric Neurol 18(3):321–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpn.2013.12.008
Mandal S, DebMandal M, Kumar Pa N, Saha K (2010) Antibacterial activity of honey against clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. Pac J Tropical Med 3(12):961–964. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1995-7645(11)60009-6
Mattana CM, Satorres SE, Sosa A, Fusco M, Alcaráz LE (2010) Antibacterial activity of extracts of Acacia aroma against methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus. Braz J Microbiol 41(3):581–587. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-83822010000300007
Mehdi Y, Mutlaq A, Al-Balas Q, Azzi E, Bouadjela L, Taïbi N, Dakiche H, Touati L, Boudriche L, Bachari K (2018) Physicochemical characterization and determination of chloramphenicol residues and heavy metals in Algerian honeys. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:33322–33333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3241-2
Moussa A, Noureddine D, Si Mohameda H, Abdelmeleka M, Saada A (2012) Antibacterial activity of various honey types of Algeria against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. Asian Pacific. J Trop Med 5(10):776. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1995-7645(12)60141-2
Muñoz E, Palermo S (2006) Determination of heavy metals in honey by potentiometric strip** analysis and using a continuous flow methodology. Food Chem 94(3):478–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2005.01.022
Naila A, Flint SH, Sulaiman AZ, Ajit A, Weeds Z (2018) Classical and novel approach to the analysis of honey and detection of adulterants. Food Control 90:152–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.02.027
Nowak L, Dziezyc H, Piotrowski M (2011) Content of bioelements and toxic metals in honey of various botanical origin from lower Silesia. J Elem 16(3):437–444. https://doi.org/10.5601/jelem.2011.16.3.08
Ordinance of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, (2003) Journal of Laws 181, Poz. 1772 and 1773
Özyürek M, Bektaşoğlu B, Güçlü K, Güngör N, Apak R (2010) A novel hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay of phenolics and flavonoids using cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) methodology. J Food Compos Anal 23(7):689–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2010.02.01.3
Panseri S, Catalano A, Giorgi A, Arioli F, Procopio A, Britti D, Chiesa LM (2014) Occurrence of pesticide residues in Italian honey from different areas in relation to its potential contamination sources. Food Control 38:150–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2013.10.024
Pleeging CCF, Coenye T, Mossialos D, De Rooster H, Chrysostomou D, Wagener FADTG, Cremers NAJ (2020) Synergistic antimicrobial activity of supplemented medical-grade honey against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation and eradication. Antibiotics 9:866. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9120866
Poormontaseri M, Hosseinzadeh S, Shekarforoush SS (2014) Characterization of Clostri dium botulinum spores and its toxin in honey. Iran J Vet Res 46:36–39
Proañoa A, Coelloa D, Villacrés Grandaab I, Ballesterosa I, Debutc A, Vizuetec K, Brencianid A, Álvarez-Suarez JM (2021) The osmotic action of sugar combined with hydrogen peroxide and bee-derived antibacterial peptide Defensin-1 is crucial for the antibiofilm activity of eucalyptus honey. LWT 136(2):110379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2020.110379
Radšel A, Andlovic A, Neubauer D, Osredkar D (2013) Infant botulism: first two confirmed cases in Slovenia and literature review. Eur J Pediatr Neurol 17(6):651–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpn.2013.04.009
Ranzato E, Bonsignore G, Patrone M, Martinotti S (2021) Endothelial and vascular health: a tale of Honey, H2O2 and calcium. Cells 10(5):1071. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10051071
Regulation the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, (2017). On the monitoring of unauthorised substances, chemical and biological residues, medicinal products and radioactive contamination
Ru QM, Feng Q, He JZ (2013) Risk assessment of heavy metals in honey consumed in Zhejiang province, southeastern China. Food Chem Toxicol 53:256–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2012.12.015
Rudnicka K, Tenderenda M, Chmiela M (2014) Etiologia i epidemiologia botulizmu niemowląt. Pediatr Pol 89(3):198–202
Rybak-Chmielewska H (2007a) High performance liquid chromatography study of sugar composition in some kinds of natural honey and winter stores processed by bees from starch syrup. J Apic Sci 51(1):23–38
Rybak-Chmielewska H (2007b) Changes in the carbohydrate composition of honey undergoing during storage. J Apic Sci 51(1):39–48
Stagos D, Soulitsiotis N, Tsadila C, Papaeconomou S, Arvanitis C, Ntontos A, Karkanta F, Adamou-Androulaki S, Petrotos K, Spandidos DA, Kouretas D, Mossialos D (2018) Antibacterial and antioxidant activity of different types of honey derived from Mount Olympus in Greece. Int J Mol Med 42(2):726–734. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2018.3656
Torraco RJ (2005) Writing integrative literature reviews: guidelines and examples. Hum Resour Dev Rev 4(3):356–367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484305278283
Tsadila C, Nikolaidis M, Dimitriou TG, Kafantaris I, Amoutiaz GD, Poumaras S, Mossialos D (2021) Antibacterial activity and characterization of bacteria isolated from diverse types of Greek honey against nosocomial and foodborne pathogens. Appl Sci 11(13):5801. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11135801
Tsavea E, Mossialos D (2019) Antibacterial activity of honeys produced in Mount Olympus area against nosocomial and foodborne pathogens is mainly attributed to hydrogen peroxide and proteinaceous compounds. J Apic Res 58(5):756–763. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2019.1649570
Valera E, Muriano A, Pividori I, Sánchez-Baeza F, Marco MP (2013) Development of a Coulombimetric immunosensor based on specific antibodies labeled with CdS nanoparticles for sulfonamide antibiotic residues analysis and its application to honey samples. Biosens Bioelectron 43:211–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2012.12.017
Valgas C, Machado de Souza IS, Smânia EFA, Smânia JRA (2007) Screening methods to determine antibacterial activity of natural products. Braz J Microbiol 38(2):369–380. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-83822007000200034
Visavadia BG, Honeysett J, Danford MH (2008) Manuka honey dressing: an effective treatment for chronic wound infections. Brit J Oral Maxill Surg 46(1):55–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjoms.2006.09.013
Wilczyńska A (2009) Metody oznaczania aktywności antyoksydacyjnej miodów pszczelich. Bromatol Chem Toksykol 3:870–874
Wilczyńska A (2014) Effect of filtration on colour, antioxidant activity and total phenolics of honey. LWT Food Sci Technol 57:767–774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2014.01.034
Zhang Y, Li XQ, Li HM, Zhang QH, Gao Y, Li XJ (2019) Antibiotic residues in honey: A review on analytical methods by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Trends Anal Chem 110:344–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2018.11.015
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by the author.
Consent to participate
Informed consent is not applicable.
Conflict of interest
Kamila Goderska declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goderska, K. Properties of bee honeys and respective analytical methods. Food Anal. Methods 15, 1720–1735 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-022-02243-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-022-02243-0