Manuka honey from New Zealand has long been sold at a premium as a nutraceutical, boasting health enhancing properties. The honey, produced by bees from the pollen of two plants, Leptospermum scoparium and Leptospermum ericoides, which are thought to be the source of any health benefits. Leptospermum happens to be a sub-family of Myrtaceae and is more commonly known as the Teatree, from which the well-renowned essential oil is extracted. Of the 86 recognized species within Leptospermum, 83 can be found in Australia.1 The question is: can Manuka honey be made in Australia? Currently, the producer, Capilano is offering several products labelled as Manuka honeys from Australia, so it is of particular interest to see how they compare.
Recently, Maple syrup has also been found to have particular bio-activity, everything from anti-inflammatory action to acting as a pro-biotic and the perennial antioxidant benefits, citing in this case, polyphenols.2 Equally, could treacle, a by-product of sugar refining, and other forms of liquid “sugar,” contain a variety of contaminants which may turn out to be beneficial?
Here, we present a survey profiling these products, with a view to identifying major and minor components for comparative purposes. The intensity of the sugar protons relative to the “active” components presents a significant challenge for characterization by 1H NMR spectroscopy. In order to simplify this, deuterium NMR was examined as a parallel technique. In addition, chemical extraction methods have been investigated so order to eliminate the overwhelmingly large sugar component, and enhance detection of the underlying compounds.