KARACHI, Aug 30: Natural honey relieves pain and heals infections and wounds, including those caused by diabetes. It has also been found to be helpful in the treatment of cancer, chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (painful inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membrane lining the digestive tract) and parasitic diseases.

These points were highlighted by Dr Mohammad Kamran Azim in a lecture on health benefits of honey organised at the Prof Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Auditorium of the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Karachi University, on Thursday.

Dr Azim, who is an assistant professor of biochemistry at the Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, has carried out considerable research on characterisation of health beneficial properties of natural honey.

His group has investigated bioactivities of proteins-peptides present in natural honey obtained from different geographical regions of Pakistan.

Giving a background of honey use, Dr Azim said that both historical facts and science endorsed the role of honey in health promotion and disease treatment.

“Honey has been used as medicine since time immemorial. Many studies have demonstrated the usefulness of honey in a variety of clinical conditions. In Pakistan, honey is obtained from European and oriental bee colonies foraged on a variety of flora,” he said.

According to him, honey produced from a plant species growing in a specific geographical area has its own colour, flavour and medicinal properties.

He informed the audience that honey, a supersaturated solution of sugars, also contained minor quantities of peptides, proteins, amino acids, oligosaccharides, organic acids, flavonoids among other things.

Researches, he said, had shown the usefulness of honey in diverse health conditions, for instance allergies, ulcers, angiogenesis, inflammation and microbial infections as it was found to have antibacterial, anti-nematodal (agent to reduce nematode infection), pain-relieving and immuno-modulatory (a substance that alters the immune response) properties.

Referring to research publications, he said that scientists who had developed manuka honey in New Zealand claimed that the product helped clear chronic wound infections, killed methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans and helped cure chronic rhinosinusitis.

“Honey has anti-diabetic effect and has been found to be helpful in healing diabetic foot wound. There are studies which say that honey is a potential treatment for cancer and AIDS. It is said to be a promising candidate for cancer treatment and prevention including colon and prostate cancer,” he said, adding that the bees’ venom was used for treatment of chronic pain.

The research at the PCMD, he said, had shown that honey was effective in treating helminth (parasitic) infections considered as poor man’s diseases.

They affected both humans and livestock. About two billion people harbour parasitic worm infections, he said citing the World Health Organisation statistics.

To a question, he said that local researchers had found no significant difference among the honeys (manufactured from different flora) being sold in the market, adding that the quality of local products was generally found to be good.

“Pakistan is a notable producer/exporter of honey. In fact, honey is exported and then imported with some other brand name. Currently, honey worth Rs1 billion is being produced annually in the country, largely from European bee species,” he said.