A five-year study, funded by Agrifutures-Australia, between the University of Technology in Sydney, the Sydney University and the University of the Sunshine Coast has found that seven of more-than-80 Australian leptospermum species produce honey with exceptionally high levels of antibacterial activity, and many others produce honey with therapeutically-beneficial activity.
The joint project between the three universities tested more than 5,000 honey and 2,000 nectar samples from across the nation.
“Our medicinal honey is as good as, or more active than, New Zealand medicinal honey — so New Zealand’s got one species [leptospermum scoparium], we’ve got multiple [leptospermum] species, and some of our species are three or four times more active than New Zealand,” USC Honey lab senior chemistry lecturer, Dr Peter Brooks, said.
Read the full article on the ABC News website.
