Honey has long been celebrated for its medicinal properties, and records of its use date back to ancient civilisations. Yet, unlike many ‘ancient’ remedies, honey has stood the test of time. In recent years, its role in veterinary medicine, particularly in treating wounds in horses, has gained significant attention. With horse owners increasingly seeking out effective and natural remedies, honey is being used more and more in the treatment of wounds.
Primary benefits
The primary benefits of honey are its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions:
Antibacterial
Several properties of honey help it kill bacteria. For one, it is acidic, with most honey varieties registering between 3.5 and 4 on the pH scale. Animal tissues, in contrast, are slightly alkaline, with a normal pH in the range of around 7.4, and most bacteria found in wounds thrive best in a neutral to alkaline environment, with a pH of around 6 to 8. The honey works to lower the pH on the surface of the wound to a level that inhibits bacterial growth.
Honey is also hygroscopic, meaning its sugars readily absorb moisture and pull it from the surroundings. This allows honey to draw pus, waste products, and other fluids out of the wound while keeping the exposed surfaces moist. This, in turn, encourages fresh lymphatic fluid to flow into the injured area. Most species of bacteria do not survive in this hygroscopic environment.
Honey also produces hydrogen peroxide, a common disinfectant. As part of the honey-making process, bees secrete an enzyme called glucose oxidase into the honey. This enzyme remains stable in its original form in sealed, pure honey. However, once the honey is opened and exposed to oxygen and water, a chemical reaction occurs that releases hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide gives a high level of antibacterial activity.
Anti-inflammatory
Although inflammation is a natural part of the body’s response to illness or injury, if it becomes chronic, it can prevent healing. The methylglyoxal (MGO) found in manuka honey, combined with another protein the bees secrete, acts on white blood cells in the tissue to produce an anti-inflammatory effect. This effect has been well-documented in clinical trials.
Fast fact
People who receive radiation therapy for cancers of the head and neck often experience painful inflammation of the tissues inside the mouth. In one trial, 20 people were asked to hold pure honey in their mouths 15 minutes before, 15 minutes after and six hours after the radiation treatment. Only 20 percent of the honey-treated patients experienced significant inflammation, compared to 75 percent of 20 control patients not given honey.
Antioxidant
Honey is rich in polyphenols, a class of chemical compounds with an antioxidant effect—that is, they tend to bind with potentially damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are generated as a byproduct of inflammation. In chronic wounds, the normal inflammatory process that heals can generate too many reactive oxygen species, which in turn stimulates additional inflammation, which can become constant and inhibit healing. Honey’s antioxidant qualities can break that cycle and allow healing to proceed.
Not all honey is created equal
Just about any pure honey will have some medicinal effect from the acidity and hygroscopic action of the sugars, as described above. However, there can be considerable differences in the amount of potentially beneficial compounds that different varieties contain.
Manuka honey, made from nectars of Leptospermum scoparium(manuka) trees native to New Zealand and parts of Australia, has received the most research attention. Manuka honey has been found to contain many times more polyphenols and MGOs than other varieties.
Did you know?
Surveys have shown that some food honey labelled as manuka may derive less than 70 per cent of its content from actual manuka trees.
Medihoney, the first commercial product approved by a regulatory authority, was released in Australia in 1999. By 2008, a British company was distributing medical-grade honey products throughout Europe and other countries worldwide. In 2007, the FDA approved the sale of Medihoney as a medical device in the United States. All of these products use medical-grade Manuka Honey, which has been sterilised, is free of contaminants, and has guaranteed levels of therapeutic substances.
You can buy food-grade manuka honey from a grocery store, and sometimes, these products are labelled for their biomedical potency. However, what is inside the jar doesn’t always match what’s on the label. Honey is a natural product, and unless the bees are sealed in greenhouses, they don’t always choose the expected flowers.
Contamination is another concern with supermarket honey. In 2013, a University of Glasgow researchers investigated the antimicrobial properties of various kinds of honey. They gathered 29 types, including commercial medical products and honey purchased from supermarkets and beekeepers. All were first cultured for contamination, and 18 were found to be positive for aerobic bacteria or fungi. The researchers, therefore, concluded that only medical-grade honey was safe for use in managing wounds.
Other honeys showing potential
It had been thought that manuka was the most potent antimicrobial honey, but research has found several others that are equally good, if not better, at killing microorganisms. Heather honey, for instance, is especially good at killing bacteria. Tualang honey, derived from the tualang trees in the jungles of Malaysia, was found by researchers at Universiti Sains Malaysia to be higher in phenolics and other compounds and more effective than manuka against gram-negative bacteria, and two other Malaysian honeys—sourwood and longan—were better sources of antioxidants. Researchers from the University of Thessaly found that several Greek and Cypriot honeys performed as well or better than manuka against S. aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
Practical application
Several medicinal honey products are available in South Africa. You’ll find two general types: tubes of gels or pastes that can be applied directly to wounds and bandages with pads pre-saturated in medical-grade manuka honey. Either of these can be used on horses.
The ointments can be applied to minor wounds and left uncovered. Be aware, however, that flies will be attracted to the sugars, and the products are messy, as everything sticks to them! Gels combine the honey with a water-based preparation that is less sticky and maybe a better choice for a wound that will be left uncovered.
For larger wounds, covering the ointment with a bandage will help keep it cleaner and keep the honey in contact with the wound. Some commercial bandages are designed with one layer soaked with honey that overlies a highly absorbent material to draw up the exudates, which is an added bonus.
Note
Whilst honey has many excellent properties, we advise consulting your vet before using honey for wound care purposes.
A natural choice
As awareness of honey’s healing properties grows, more horse owners and vets are incorporating it into their wound care protocols. Its natural, non-toxic nature makes it a safe and effective option for equine care. Whether dealing with minor cuts or more complex injuries, honey offers a versatile, time-tested solution to support your horse’s recovery.
