A collaborative research team from Trinity and Dublin City University has found heather honey to be pulsing with health benefits.
The results showed that there is a similarly high presence of powerful antioxidants called phenolic compounds in heather honey as there is in the famous manuka honey.
The results were just published in the journal Food Chemistry.
The research was led by doctoral student Saorla Kavanagh, College of Chemical Sciences and DCU Water Institute, and supervised by senior academics Dr. Blánaid White, College of Chemical Sciences, DCU, and Trinity Professor of Botany, Jane Stout. Funding was provided by the Irish Research Council and honey samples were donated by beekeepers across Ireland.
The research focused on honey produced in Ireland and examined the phenolic content and physical and chemical parameters (moisture, total sugar, color) of different types of Irish honey and compared them to international brands. It was also the first-ever comparison between single-source Irish honey (heather, ivy, rapeseed) and multi-floral honey, in addition, the researchers compared honey from urban and rural hives.
Main results
131 Irish honey samples were collected directly from beekeepers between 2013-2015 from 78 sites across Ireland. The majority (124) were poly-floral honeys (55 from urban, 69 from rural); Three of heather honey. Two ivy honey and two rapeseed oil honey.
Research focused on honey produced in Ireland and the majority of samples came from small private producers.
Dark colored honeys usually have a higher TPC (total phenol content) and therefore a higher antioxidant capacity.
Urban multi-flowered honey had a higher TPC than rural multi-floral honey.
But Irish heather honey had the highest TPC of all other Irish honeys and had a higher TPC than manuka honey itself.
Dr Planid White, from Dublin City University, said: “Being able to quantify Irish honey with a high phenol content, especially since the heather honey content is comparable to Manuka honey, is very exciting to us. Our research shows that the honey from the heather flower is a high quality product that we should really appreciate. Interest in beekeeping and honey production is growing in Ireland, and we are pleased to be able to support this. “
