Characterization of Apitherapy Honeys for Medical Applications

Towards a Better Understanding of Nutritional and Therapeutic Effects of Honey and Their Applications in Apitherapy

“…Since the phenolic content of honey derives mainly from the nectar of the plants that bees feed on [46], we can infer that the antioxidant capacity of honey depends strongly on the botanical origin of plants [35,89,132]. Further evidence shows that the antioxidant capacity is also correlated with the honey colour intensity stating those darker-coloured honey possesses higher antioxidant properties and therefore a higher phenolic content [29,133]. However, other factors including environmental and seasonal conditions, processing methods, packaging and storage conditions, can influence the antioxidant ability of honey and contribute to its changes [53,60].…”

“…Sicilian honeys (Dill, Eucalyptus Globes and Ferula) as described by Attanzio et al (2016) [138] are characterised by an antioxidant activity higher than the values identified in Amorpha fruticosa L. honey from China [59], but not lower than the average of monofloral honey samples from Turkey [137]. As for Iranian honeys, [29] it was reported that saffron honey had the highest percentage inhibition, whereas the lowest was found in Polyfloral honey.…”

“…Honey composition depends on the botanical and geographical origin of plants [29][30][31], along with the environmental conditions as climate during harvest and the ability of the beekeeper to process, pack and store the honey in appropriate conditions [32,33]. The therapeutic benefits of natural foods such as honey is not a recent discovery, but rather dates back to when humankind considered some food products as having both nutritional and health benefits [2].…”

Calluna vulgaris as a Valuable Source of Bioactive Compounds: Exploring Its Phytochemical Profile, Biological Activities and Apitherapeutic Potential

“…Besides the chemical parameters, the honey structure may be influenced by other external conditions such as the climate, environment or beekeeper knowledge about the good practices that should be maintained in order to keep the honey quality unspoiled [ 178 ]. Therefore, various methods were developed to prevent honey discrimination, mostly by analyzing the floral and the geographic origin [ 9 , 155 , 158 , 179 , 180 , 181 , 182 ]. These methods are extremely important for determining the quality and authenticity indicators of honey, especially when honey is used for therapeutic purposes.…”

“…Throughout these services, plants have a positive influence on the human population and mostly on human wellbeing [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. As a consequence, recent decades have witnessed a continuous interest of the scientific field towards medicinal plants, natural products [ 5 , 6 , 7 ] and apitherapy [ 8 , 9 ] that can provide important resources for sustainable development [ 10 , 11 ]. Because of the importance given to plants for preventing and curing various diseases, their role has grown, and more attention has been given to the secondary metabolites and their nutritional and health benefits [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”