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Sunday, August 26, 2007For biochemist Peter Molan, honey's ancient power to heal is not a matter of faith. So sure is he of the science behind it that he frequently applies the stuff of his research on himself -- and on his wife. "She had a persistent boil on her buttocks," he explained. Since no standard salves had helped, he liquefied a dollop of a particular variety of honey known as manuka in the kitchen microwave, poured it over gauze and applied it. The molten honey burned her. "Fortunately, manuka is effective in treating burns as well as boils," Molan said cheerfully. Within a short time, he said, both boil and burn healed. Lucky for her. What about this manuka honey? The Washington Post article quotes some research: As with other natural health-care products, many of the claims for manuka's efficacy are sweeping and scantily supported. Molan distances himself from the notion, for example, that, once ingested, manuka acts as a rejuvenator. The most promising research, he and many other scientists say, focuses instead on bioactive honey's potency as a topical application. The South African Medical Journal reported in 2006 on a trial among gold miners in which honey worked as well as, and was more cost-effective than, a standard gel on shallow wounds and abrasions. The European Journal of Medical Research reported in 2003 that honey had an 85 percent success rate in treating infected post-op Caesarean wounds, compared with a 50 percent success rate for conventional interventions. The FDA has approved it for topical use. Here's a small study of chronic wounds that responded to it, although this study says that just about all honeys have antibacterial powers, though manuka seemed to be most effective. Seems like such a gooey option, but for a chronic, poorly healing wound, maybe not a bad choice. posted by Sydney on 8/26/2007 07:37:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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