The honey from a specific south-Italian honey bee seems to have way more antioxidant power than the average honey bee honey.
A study by the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF) of the University of Palermo investigated the composition of unifloral honey from the Sicilian black bee (Apis mellifera ssp. sicula), to investigate its antioxidant properties.
Scientific evidence attributes a wide range of beneficial health effects to the products of bee work, including antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral properties and many others. One of the most relevant properties is their ability to protect cells from the damage caused by oxidative agents, such as free radicals.
Free radicals are highly unstable atoms, molecules or compounds, which try to bind to other molecules (including the ones human cells are made of), atoms or even single electrons to receive from them the negative charges they need to reach a state of stability.
By doing so, free radicals cause molecular transformations and genetic mutations in many types of organisms. This process, called oxidative stress, contributes to developing chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, aging, cataracts, rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. According to the radical theory in human physiology, active free radicals are involved in almost all cell degradation processes and lead to cell death.
Antioxidants, on the other hand, work in the opposite direction: they are capable of slowing down or inhibiting the oxidation of compounds carried on by free radicals.
Supported already in ancient times and undermined with the development of the pharmaceutical industry, the antioxidant and anti-radical capacity of bee products is today recognized by the scientific community and proven by multiple studies.
However, hive products, such as honey, pollen, propolis, beeswax, royal jelly and bee venom, have a complex and inconsistent composition, which makes them different from a chemical and nutritional point of view. The type and concentration of their bioactive compounds varies under the influence of various aspects: the botanical source, the geographical origin and the climatic conditions. The reason for this influence is simple: honey is produced by bees from nectar or plant secretions; so, the nutrients are transferred from the plants and accumulate in this food. Consequently, the geographical, climatic and environmental characteristics of the areas in which honey is produced have repercussions on its physical, chemical, organoleptic and nutraceutical properties. These differences represent a useful discriminatory tool for the classification and identification of honey.
In the study on honey produced by Apis mellifera ssp sicula, honeys from different plant families were tested: among them, sulla, mandarin, almond, eucalyptus, dill and thistle, all coming from Sicilian black bee hives.
Those honeys were subjected to various in vitro chemical reactions, intended to determine their content of phenols and flavonoids, the “ingredients” of honey responsible for its antioxidant potential. Quercetin, a flavonoid, in particular is believed to contribute in the protection against the oxidation of cell lipids.
Research has revealed the high levels of phenolic components in these honeys, ranking them among the best globally.
The results showed, in fact, that dill, almond, mandarin, thistle and honey honey inhibited the formation of free radicals. Among these, dill honey has the highest content of total flavonoids, while almond honey contains highest amounts of quercetin.