UMF testing

Not all honeys have the same ability to kill . Rating the strength of different batches is important so that people can choose the right honey for their needs.

Transcript

Peter Molan (University of Waikato)

The level of activity in each batch of honey is measured and recorded as a , so the Mānuka honey is rated that way.

Kerry Allen (University of Waikato)

To start developing a test to determine the activity of honey, I started with a known test called a well-diffusion and then adapted that test. The process is to, first of all, make an with the bacterial added.

We melt the , then we pour the plate and - once it’s set - we can make some wells in the plate with a cork borer. Then we take the little circles out. Then we can add some honey solutions to the wells and also the phenol standards [to allow for a fair comparison between tests done on different days].

Once that’s done, we put it in an incubator and incubate it overnight at 37 degrees, so that the will grow around the wells.

If there’s any antibacterial activity from the solutions that I’ve put in the wells there’ll be a clear zone where the bacteria haven’t grown.

Peter Molan (University of Waikato)

The activity diffuses out from the well and - depending on how strong it is - it’ll give a zone around the well where no bacteria can grow.