Antiproliferative effects of honey in the treatment of cancer

Antiproliferative effects of honey in the treatment of cancer

Whilst my fascination with bees manifests itself most obviously in my love of and obsession with creating the world's finest beeswax candles, actually it extends all the way from beekeeping through the societal structure of bees, to all the products of the hive (including honey, bee pollen and royal jelly) and finally to candles. Today I read a fascinating piece of medical research on the Antiproliferative Effects of Honey in the treatment of cancer. The research was done by Saravana Kumar Jaganathan and Mahitosh Mandal and published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. Following is an abstract of the research: Honey has been used since ancient times both in medical and domestic needs, but only recently the antioxidant property of it came to limelight. The fact that antioxidants have several preventative effects against different diseases, such as cancer, coronary diseases, inflammatory disorders, neurological degeneration, and aging, led to search for food rich in antioxidants. Chemoprevention uses various dietary agents rich in phytochemicals which serve as antioxidants. With increasing demand for antioxidant supply in the food, honey had gained vitality since it is rich in phenolic compounds and other antioxidants like ascorbic acid, amino acids, and proteins. Some simple and polyphenols found in honey, namely, caffeic acid (CA), caffeic acid phenyl esters (CAPE), Chrysin (CR), Galangin (GA), Quercetin (QU), Kaempferol (KP), Acacetin (AC), Pinocembrin (PC), Pinobanksin (PB), and Apigenin (AP), have evolved as promising pharmacological agents in treatment of cancer. In this review, we reviewed the antiproliferative and molecular mechanisms of honey and above-mentioned polyphenols in various cancer cell lines.
If you have a little more time, you can read the full piece of research here. We have 22 varieties of Australian honey for tasting at the hive where we also make Queen B candles. The most important thing to be aware of when buying honey is to ensure that the honey has not been heated over 42 degrees Celsius. At that temperature the anti-bacterial properties of honey start to be killed. Most supermarket honey is flash heated (which involves heating significantly above 42 degrees). They do this to stop the honey candying on the shelf because a lot of people think that if their honey candies that it has gone off. It hasn't. All honey will candy in time, the timing just varies. Eg Clover honey will candy within a couple of months where Yellowbox honey would take years. If you're ever near Sydney's Northern Beaches, feel free to pop in and try some honey and read the tasting notes and research and watch Queen B candles being made. Happy days.
Queen B beeswax candles are made with 100% pure Australian beeswax a pure cotton wick and copious amounts of hand made love. We stock beautiful and stylish candle holders, personalised candles, votive candles and pillar candles that nourish the human spirit and our environment.

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