Manuka honey: most expensive honey in the world?

Bees from New Zealand produce the most expensive and valuable honey in the world. We show what the wonder honey Manuka is all about.

Honey has been used as a remedy for thousands of years. The so-called Manuka honey from New Zealand is said to have a very special effect. In the following we show what effect Manuka honey has and how to best use it and present a recommended source of supply.

Manuka honey

Even today, honey is used in a wide variety of natural medicine. A special type of honey that stands out in this regard is Manuka honey. Its miraculous effects were only discovered in New Zealand in 1998. But what exactly is it that makes this honey so special?

Manuka honey comes from the flower nectar of the New Zealand manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium), a relative of the Australian tea tree. Manuka is also called the South Sea myrtle or New Zealand myrtle and is only found in New Zealand and the southeastern region of Australia. This plant grows in the shape of a bush or tree and can reach heights of up to four meters. Its white or pink flowers often bloom for months. The real Manuka honey is obtained by placing bee colonies close to Manuka bushes. Honey farmers in New Zealand even use helicopters to track down the wild bushes and then set up their beehives near them.

The particularly resilient Manuka shrub can also keep on cleared areas. It is precisely this property that is welcomed and used to reforest lost vegetation. Already after 50-75 years, a Manuka bush can regenerate the soil to such an extent that other trees can also grow again. Since Manuka does not taste good to cows, sheep or other animals, in addition to reforestation projects, they benefit Bees and with them the beekeepers. With the purchase of Manuka honey you are not only doing something good for yourself, you are also often supporting the renaturation of New Zealand.

The effects of Manuka honey

The special Manuka honey not only has an antiseptic and wound healing effect, but also has an antioxidant effect. It also has positive effects on bacteria and fungi and can even cure viral diseases. It is also helpful for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. One of the most surprising places where Manuka honey is used is in the mouth: the viscous gold, thanks to its ingredients, also helps against infections and even caries bacteria. Manuka honey can also be used against warts, acne, herpes and scars.

These different areas of application of honey have a special reason - the ingredient methylglyoxal is much stronger in this type of honey than in other types of honey. This substance enhances the healing properties of honey. For example, if you have a sore throat, a spoonful of honey is enough to remedy the situation. Of course you can also dissolve the Manuka honey in warm tea and then drink it.

Note: The honey should not be heated above 40 ° C so that the valuable ingredients are retained.

The antibacterial activity of Manuka honey is indicated with the help of the so-called MGO content. MGO stands for methylglyoxal and describes the main active ingredient in honey. Methylglyoxal is produced naturally in the nectar of the flowers of the Manuka bush before it is ingested by the bees. Interestingly, pure Manuka honey contains between 100-800 mg per kilogram of methylglyoxal, while other honey contains no more than 20 mg. If you want to buy Manuka honey, you should definitely pay attention to the contents. High quality Manuka honey has at least an MGO content of 400.

How does Manuka honey work?

• Manuka honey has an antiseptic, wound healing and antioxidant effect
• The honey can be used against a wide variety of ailments, from diseases of the marginal intestinal tract to tooth decay, acne and viral diseases
• The ingredient methylglyoxal strengthens the healing properties of honey and is measured using the so-called MGO content
• A high quality Manuka honey has at least an MGO content of 400

Buy Manuka honey

Manuka honey is not mass-produced and therefore has its price. A quarter of a kilogram of honey can cost up to 80 euros. The higher the MGO salary, the more expensive it becomes. The high demand is also the undoing of the sweet gold from New Zealand, because apparently the high honey prices also lead to the massive fraud with Manuka honey. It was already noticed a few years ago that more Manuka honey is being traded on the world market than New Zealand bees could have produced. Around 10,000 tons of "Manuka honey" are sold worldwide, although New Zealand can only report production of 1,700 tons.

One possibility of quality assurance is to check the MGO content in the laboratory. The Manuka honey from beegut, for example, is examined in German laboratories to rule out counterfeiting. The high-quality Manuka has an MGO content of 400+ and impresses with its plastic-free packaging. You can find more information about beegut Manuka honey here.