Thinking Of Buying Medical Grade Manuka Honey? Read This First…

Please note: This article should not be used in place of medical advice. Please consult a medical professional about your specific needs before using any product for medical purposes.

Honey has been widely used as medicine throughout history and across cultures.

For millennia, people have held beliefs about the bioactive and healing properties of honey. Fast forward to today, and scientific evidence is finally catching up.

Research papers regularly uncover new evidence and uses, such as this 2024 study indicating the effectiveness of manuka honey in treating and preventing the most common type of breast cancer.

If you’re thinking of buying medical grade manuka honey, there are a few things you should know first:

• While we have the evidence that honey has potential in medicine, not all honeys are created equal. You need to look for specific types.

• The medical-grade honey products for sale may not give you exactly what you’re looking for. There are other ways to use it, depending on your situation.

• It’s key to understand what compounds within honey make it effective, how to identify the good stuff, and how to use it for the best chance at success.

That’s what this guide is all about.

By the end, you’ll have a clearer understanding of the science behind medical grade honey, how to know that you’re buying the real deal, and ways to use it at home.

In this guide to medical grade manuka honey:

• What is medical grade honey?

• The evidence for using medical-grade honey

• What makes medical grade manuka honey so effective?

• How to buy the right medical grade manuka honey

• How to make your own medical-grade honey dressing at home

• Where to buy trustworthy medical grade manuka honey

• Medical grade honey FAQs

What Is Medical-Grade Honey?

Before discussing the science behind honey’s wide range of uses and how you can make the most of it at home, let’s clarify what medical-grade honey actually is...

“Medical-grade honey refers to honey that has been sterilised by gamma radiation, provides an indicator of the level of the honey’s antibacterial activity, is registered for medical purposes and meets national requirements for medical product labelling.

Medical-grade honey can be used as an ointment or gel, or impregnated into wound dressings.”

• Wound management: medical grade honey. Wounds Australia Journal.

Whilst there is plenty of evidence that medical-grade honey products work for various medical conditions, they usually aren’t pure honey.

Things have been added to them, and the honey has been processed to make it suitable for a wide range of clinical uses.

Depending on what you’re using the honey for, you may or may not need a sterilised and officially registered product.

If you want a natural solution to your medical problem, these highly processed options may not be the best fit.

Here are some examples of medical-grade honey products on the market and the types of additives you’ll find in them:

• Honey-based gels: These products tend to mix manuka honey with emollients like myristyl myristate, plantacare, lanolin, propylene glycol, PEG-400, hydrocolloids, and/or plant waxes.

• Honey dressings: Manuka honey is often mixed with polymers, sodium alginate, purified water, lanolin, and other natural agents.

• Honey-based ointments: Can contain less than 50% manuka honey, often topped up with lanolin, sunflower oil, cod liver oil, and zinc oxide.

• Honey-based creams: Some Medihoney creams contain only 30% manuka honey. Other brands can be 25% or less.

Commercial medical-grade honey products can contain as little as 13% manuka honey!

So why not buy a jar of pure, independently tested bioactive manuka honey and know exactly what you’re getting?

That’s the best way to get 100% of the good stuff and no added extras.

The Evidence For Using Medical-Grade Honey

“Evidence from Stone Age paintings shows treatment of disease with bee product such as honey originated from 8000 years ago. Ancient scrolls, tablets and books-Sumerian clay tablets (6200 BC), Egyptian papyri (1900–1250 BC), Veda (Hindu scripture) 5000 years, Holy Koran, Bible, and Hippocrates (460–357 BC) illustrated that honey had been widely used as a drug.”

• Honey and health: a review of recent clinical research, National Library of Medicine

The potential healing properties of honey have been a hot topic for centuries.

Used traditionally for treating things like asthma, throat infections, tuberculosis, fatigue, hepatitis, worms, piles, eczema, healing burns, ulcers and wounds, and as a dietary supplement, the chemical composition of honey has fascinated scientists in recent years.

As technology evolved, they could finally investigate whether there was any substance to its enduring reputation.

Was there truly something special about honey? If so, why is honey so effective for such a wide range of medical uses? And why do people recommend manuka honey as the gold standard for healing?

What Makes Medical Grade Manuka Honey So Effective?

The antimicrobial effects in most types of honey come from enzymes that produce hydrogen peroxide, which eliminates many types of bacteria and infections.

Manuka honey, on the other hand, provides medicinal properties through another compound called methylglyoxal (MGO). Even when the hydrogen peroxide content is removed from manuka honey, it is still extremely antimicrobial. This is known as non-peroxide activity.

Over the last 30+ years, a vast body of research has emerged showing how MGO works and what manuka honey is capable of. This has led to the development of internationally recognised standards to help buyers know (and trust) how potent the honey they are buying is.

The most reliable standard for testing manuka honey is the UMF™ grading system, which independently tests and verifies the potency of manuka honey batches to the world's strictest requirements.

Why else is medical grade manuka honey so good for healing?

Aside from antimicrobial activity, here are some other reasons why medical grade manuka honey is so effective:

• Packed with nutrients: Authentic, quality, raw manuka honey contains over 2000 natural compounds. This includes many things your body needs to heal, such as vitamins, proteins, minerals, amino acids, and organic acids.

• Full of antioxidants: Pure raw honey like ours contains flavonoid and polyphenol compounds, which are strong antioxidants. Antioxidants help our bodies protect themselves. The contents of antioxidants in honey drastically varies between the different types, with manuka honey at the upper end of the spectrum.

• Effective against MRSA: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a significant problem worldwide, especially in hospitals. Manuka honey is effective against MRSA and other forms of antibiotic-resistant infections. Some research indicates that it may even help to make antibiotics more effective when used together, although evidence at the time of publishing is inconclusive.

• Attacks infections: When manuka honey comes into contact with infections, it disrupts the biofilm surface, allowing the beneficial compounds get to work. “Manuka honey infiltrates the biofilm and kills bacterial cells, showing that honey with a higher UMF, and consequently MGO content, produced greater anti-biofilm activity.” - Source.

• Keeps infection out: Aside from the already mentioned benefits of MGO and hydrogen peroxide activity, manuka honey also has a high sugar content and low pH level, which creates an environment that makes it very difficult for infections to survive.

• Moisturises, soothes & reduces inflammation: Manuka honey helps to draw moisture into wounds and skin conditions, soothes irritation and reduces inflammation. The phenolic content of honey is believed to be responsible for its anti-inflammatory properties. That, along with its sugar and non-sugar content, helps the body take care of itself and power up its immunity.

• Apoptotic activity: Apoptosis refers to the programming of cells to die when they become harmful or unhelpful to the body. A characteristic of cancer cells is issues with cell death not properly taking place, and treatments often look to boost it. Honey has been observed to do this in cancer cells. Used in conjunction with other therapies, it has had some success in reducing tumour sizes.

• Reduces scarring: By creating the right conditions for wounds to heal rapidly, reducing inflammation, and providing essential nutrients, manuka honey enables healing with less scarring. MGO also helps with wound debridement, promoting the natural removal of dead tissue, which clears the wound site and gives new tissue protection while it grows.

This impressive spread of protective and regenerative properties explains why honey is one of human history's oldest known medicinal therapies.

However, as mentioned previously, honey made from different plant species can vary widely in their antibacterial activity.

Manuka honey contains up to 100x more methylglyoxal (MGO) than other types of honey, making it a clear winner for medical use.

How To Buy The Right Medical Grade Manuka Honey

So, we know that manuka honey is the best for medical purposes.

But what else must you look for when buying the best honey for medical use?

The first question is, do you need sterilised honey for your specific purpose (ask your medical professional if you’re unsure)? Or would you prefer a completely natural, pure option?

If you need sterilised medical-grade honey, ensure that the product you buy is properly treated.

If you’d prefer to use pure, high-grade manuka honey, here are a few things to look out for:

1: Look for the highest UMF™ and MGO grading in your budget

As a highly popular product with limited supply, there are many fake, adulterated and diluted manuka honeys for sale.

To ensure you get a legitimate, independently tested manuka honey, look for UMF™ certified jars. The UMF™ grading system was developed by the UMFHA (Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association) to protect consumers and the reputation of trustworthy producers.

The UMF™ and MGO (methylglyoxal) numbers refer to the concentration of compounds found only in manuka honey and works on a spectrum. The higher the concentration, the higher the grade.

Look for: Any grade from UMF™10+ upwards is suitable. For the best results, stick to UMF™ 24+, UMF™ 26+, or UMF™ 28+.

2. Raw honey

The naturally-occurring enzymes, vitamins, and minerals in manuka honey are a key part of what has been associated with its medical uses.

So when honeys are processed and heated, these 2000+ natural compounds can be compromised.

Opting for raw honey ensures you get all the goodness as nature intended.

3: Monofloral honey

Honey can be made using the nectar of numerous plants (multi-floral) or just one (mono-floral).

For the greatest concentration of good stuff, you want monofloral manuka honey.

4: Glyphosate and agricultural residue-free

Agricultural pesticides and other chemicals can leach into honey, and it’s not something you want to ingest.

Bees can travel up to 5km from their hive, so it’s difficult to control the crops within their reach. Look for companies that are certified glyphosate-reside free (like us!)

5: Evidence of production and packaging in New Zealand

If you want the real deal, nothing but authentic NZ honey, then you need to check its origins.

Has anything been added? Where was it certified and packaged? Is there any room for fraud?

It shouldn’t be difficult to verify the claims and certifications of an honest company. For example, we list all of ours and our independent testing partners here.

New Zealand has some of the strictest international standards for honey production and export, and honey is not allowed to be imported into New Zealand.

So, by opting for a New Zealand-packaged manuka honey, you can feel more confident that you’re buying a genuine product.

Feels like a long list of requirements, doesn’t it?

Well luckily, you can get all those boxes checked with our manuka honey range - right here.

Medical Grade Honey FAQs

Quick answers to your burning medical-grade honey questions.

What is medical grade honey?

Medical grade honey is honey that has been deemed suitable for medical use based on its chemical composition. Typically, this is manuka honey, graded at least UMF™ 10+.

What is the best medical grade honey?

Manuka honey is considered to have the most effective health benefits with its unique antibacterial and antioxidant properties, even effective against MRSA. The highest UMF™ grades of manuka honey are therefore regarded as the best medical grade honeys (UMF™ 26+ and UMF™ 28+).

What is the best manuka honey for medicinal purposes?

Manuka honey certified to a UMF™ standard is independently tested and can be trusted to contain the level of activity it promises. The higher the grade, the better. We recommend opting for anything above UMF™ 10+, although UMF™ 26+ or UMF™ 28+ is best.

Can you use store bought honey on wounds?

Some store-bought honeys won’t have the same health benefits that others do. For the best effects, look for manuka honey. The best medical grade manuka honey for wounds is UMF™ certified NZ manuka honeys (the higher the number, the better).

What’s the difference between honey and Medihoney?

Medihoney is a brand of medical grade honey products. These are made for specific medical uses and usually contain some honey along with other ingredients.

Where can you buy medical grade honey?

You can buy medical-grade honeys in stores or online. Our range of raw, pure manuka honey is ideal for medical purposes. Look for UMF™ 10+ and above (the higher, the better).

What’s the difference between medical grade vs. regular honey?

Medical-grade honey contains more antibacterial and antioxidant properties than other honeys. The chemical composition of honey varies between the types, so some are better suited to medical use than others.

What is the best medical grade honey for wounds?

Technically, UMF™ 10+ manuka honey is suitable for wounds. But for the best results, look for the highest grades: UMF™ 26+ and UMF™ 28+. These have greater concentrations of the good stuff that helps to heal wounds.

Suggested further reading…

• Can You Use Manuka Honey For Treating Burns?

• Manuka Honey Wound Care: Will It Help You To Recover?

• What Is The Best Manuka Honey For Scars?

• Is Manuka Honey Antifungal?

• Is Manuka Honey Antiviral?

Sources referenced in the text:

Honey-based medicinal formulations, a critical review. Applied Sciences, MDPI.

Traditional and modern uses of natural honey in human diseases, a review. National Library of Medicine.

Health & honey, a review. National Library of Medicine.

Is manuka honey good for eczema? New Zealand Honey Co.

Manuka honey for treating burns. New Zealand Honey Co.

Manuka honey wound care: will it help you recover? New Zealand Honey Co.

Manuka honey and diabetes: what you need to know. New Zealand Honey Co.

What’s the deal with organic honey? New Zealand Honey Co.

Antioxidant activity as biomarker of honey variety. National Library of Medicine.

Antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity of manuka honey versus Polish honeys. National Library of Medicine.

Non-peroxide antibacterial activity in some New Zealand honeys. Journal of Apicultural Research.

Oral administration of aloe vera and honey reduces Walker tumour growth by decreasing cell proliferation and increating apoptosis in tumour tissue. National Library of Medicine.

Evidence summary: wound management with medical grade honey. Wounds Australia Journal.

The origin of methylglyoxal in New Zealand manuka honey. National Library of Medicine.

UMF™ honey and the UMFHA. New Zealand Honey Co.

Fake manuka honey: what you need to know. New Zealand Honey Co.

How much UMF™ is enough? New Zealand Honey Co.

UMF(™). UMFHA.

Monofloral vs. Multifloral manuka honey: why does it matter? New Zealand Honey Co.

Our honey is glyphosate free. New Zealand Honey Co.

Glyphosate food testing report. FDN.

176 Ways to use manuka honey. New Zealand Honey Co.

Clinical Significance of Manuka and Medical-Grade Honey for Antibiotic-Resistant Infections: A Systematic Review. National Library of Medicine.

Manuka Honey Inhibits Human Breast Cancer Progression in Preclinical Models. MDPI.