Honingdauw-honing heeft de meeste antioxidanten.
Uit een Spaans onderzoek onder 36 verschillende soorten honing blijkt dat honingdauw-honing verreweg de meeste gezonde antioxidanten heeft.
Honeydew
Honeys Are Better Antioxidants Than Nectar Honeys
A study of 36 Spanish honeys from different floral origins revealed that
honeys generated by bees feeding on honeydew have greater antioxidant properties
than those produced by bees feeding on nectar. The study is published in this
month's edition of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
Naturally occurring antioxidants are important ingredients of many foods, and
keenly sought in many 'health foods'. They are believed to help protect people
from diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disorders, neurodegenerative diseases
and aging. They operate by mopping up potentially damaging free radicals that
are released in the body. Honey is one source of antioxidants.
The composition of honey depends greatly on where honeybees collect their raw
materials. There are two key types of source. First, honeybees can collect
nectar from flowers, and this generates nectar honeys. Secondly they can collect
fluids that exude from plants, usually after the plants have been visited by a
plant-sucking insect and this generates honeydew honeys.
"Honey is a natural source of antioxidants, and among honeys, honeydew
honey is the best," says researcher Rosa Ana Pärez, who works at the
Instituto Madrileäno de Investigaciän y Desarrollo Rural, Agrario y
Alimentario, in Madrid, Spain.
Each of the 36 honeys was exposed to a range of physical and chemical tests.
Honeys with high antioxidant properties (measured by the DPPH test) also had
high total polyphenol content, net absorbance (as colour parameter), pH and
electrical conductivity.
"These laboratory results show some aspects that people could use to get an
idea about which honeys are likely to have the most potent antioxidant
properties," says Pärez.
(Maart 2007) (Opm.
Meer over honing.)