4 ms·

So no one has figured out what the chemical is in the Manuka that has antibacterial properties and then tried to synthesize it? I have no idea if this sort of t

So no one has figured out what the chemical is in the Manuka that has antibacterial properties and then tried to synthesize it? I have no idea if this sort of thing is always doable or economical but sounds like it would be a good business opportunity.

nabeshima 11y ago
It wouldn't be Manuka honey then. You forgot the marketing angle, which is sells more of the stuff than any actual antibacterial prowess. And the Chinese consume all sorts of whacky stuff - rhino horns, tiger balls, ground-up cockroaches, etc. With the right marketing you could get the Chinese to consume anything. I used to eat a lot of Manuka honey when I grew up in New Zealand. It is strong-tasting. The Chinese have raised the prices and now I won't buy the stuff in Australia because it is too expensive.
- drzaiusapelord 11y ago
  >And the Chinese consume all sorts of whacky stuff - rhino horns, tiger balls, ground-up cockroaches, etc This is my thinking as well. This sounds like yet another Chinese health fad, which often has roots in "traditional" and "alternative" Chinese medicine, which has been shown to be almost all nonsense, with the rare exception that's due more to luck than anything else. The linked paper describes manuka as having antibacteria properties in regards to dressing wounds. I'm not sure if eating it is giving anyone any benefits and considering what we now know about gut flora and antibiotics, well, people shouldn't just be eating antibiotics like tic-tacs. > With the right marketing you could get the Chinese to consume anything. Autocratic states generally don't have any sort of democratic movements for medicine, industrial, air, or food safety, so they never get the proper regulatory bodies to make this stuff safe. Case in point, my wife brought some cold medicine back from Russia. It was chock full of mercury. There were a few articles last year about some common cold medicine marketed to children in China. It was full of lead. FDA advisory here: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm416220.htm http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm416220.htm
  - p1esk 11y ago
    What was the name of the cold medicine from Russia? How did you know it was full of mercury?
    - drzaiusapelord 11y ago
      It was listed as an ingredient. Apparently, mercury appeals to the 'naturalist' and 'folk cures' crowd which is big in Russia. Don't recall name, this was four or five years ago.
  - zamalek 11y ago
    > due more to luck than anything else. With many of these things it boils down to: simple food likely does exactly the same thing. I hear that well-nourished people generally have stronger immune systems. > regards to dressing wounds Even if it actually works on dressings the bigger question is: how well does it survive HCl and bile? Can it be absorbed via the intestines? Or is the only active effect killing off flora on its way to be pooped out? Sanitized poop: great. What these people don't realize is that the body isn't something you put things into an expect the same results. Would they guzzle down bleach simply because it cleans their clothes? Why would they then guzzle down this honey, merely because it sanitizes wounds?
- cylinder 11y ago
  Not just the Chinese, it's very popular in the US as well. Whole Foods et al carry it.
weego 11y ago
Won't it get a free pass on all kinds of regulation because it's naturally occurring? I don't know a whole log about regulation but I assume if you were to make something in the lab, mix it with food and claim antibacterial benefits you would probably be a few hundred million bucks out of pocket having to prove to the FDA that it was safe as well as proving it did what you say it does. Plus it being natural you will have off-label clones riding your expenditure once you got it through so there's no profit margin.
- drzaiusapelord 11y ago
  > claim antibacterial benefits At this point, it would need to be evaluated by the FDA because its making a medical claim. >because it's naturally occurring? Penicillium fungi is naturally occurring too. That doesn't' mean you can put it in food arbitrarily.

nabeshima 11y ago

It wouldn't be Manuka honey then. You forgot the marketing angle, which is sells more of the stuff than any actual antibacterial prowess. And the Chinese consume all sorts of whacky stuff - rhino horns, tiger balls, ground-up cockroaches, etc. With the right marketing you could get the Chinese to consume anything. I used to eat a lot of Manuka honey when I grew up in New Zealand. It is strong-tasting. The Chinese have raised the prices and now I won't buy the stuff in Australia because it is too expensive.

drzaiusapelord 11y ago
>And the Chinese consume all sorts of whacky stuff - rhino horns, tiger balls, ground-up cockroaches, etc This is my thinking as well. This sounds like yet another Chinese health fad, which often has roots in "traditional" and "alternative" Chinese medicine, which has been shown to be almost all nonsense, with the rare exception that's due more to luck than anything else. The linked paper describes manuka as having antibacteria properties in regards to dressing wounds. I'm not sure if eating it is giving anyone any benefits and considering what we now know about gut flora and antibiotics, well, people shouldn't just be eating antibiotics like tic-tacs. > With the right marketing you could get the Chinese to consume anything. Autocratic states generally don't have any sort of democratic movements for medicine, industrial, air, or food safety, so they never get the proper regulatory bodies to make this stuff safe. Case in point, my wife brought some cold medicine back from Russia. It was chock full of mercury. There were a few articles last year about some common cold medicine marketed to children in China. It was full of lead. FDA advisory here: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm416220.htm http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm416220.htm
- p1esk 11y ago
  What was the name of the cold medicine from Russia? How did you know it was full of mercury?
  - drzaiusapelord 11y ago
    It was listed as an ingredient. Apparently, mercury appeals to the 'naturalist' and 'folk cures' crowd which is big in Russia. Don't recall name, this was four or five years ago.
- zamalek 11y ago
  > due more to luck than anything else. With many of these things it boils down to: simple food likely does exactly the same thing. I hear that well-nourished people generally have stronger immune systems. > regards to dressing wounds Even if it actually works on dressings the bigger question is: how well does it survive HCl and bile? Can it be absorbed via the intestines? Or is the only active effect killing off flora on its way to be pooped out? Sanitized poop: great. What these people don't realize is that the body isn't something you put things into an expect the same results. Would they guzzle down bleach simply because it cleans their clothes? Why would they then guzzle down this honey, merely because it sanitizes wounds?
cylinder 11y ago
Not just the Chinese, it's very popular in the US as well. Whole Foods et al carry it.

weego 11y ago

Won't it get a free pass on all kinds of regulation because it's naturally occurring? I don't know a whole log about regulation but I assume if you were to make something in the lab, mix it with food and claim antibacterial benefits you would probably be a few hundred million bucks out of pocket having to prove to the FDA that it was safe as well as proving it did what you say it does. Plus it being natural you will have off-label clones riding your expenditure once you got it through so there's no profit margin.

drzaiusapelord 11y ago
> claim antibacterial benefits At this point, it would need to be evaluated by the FDA because its making a medical claim. >because it's naturally occurring? Penicillium fungi is naturally occurring too. That doesn't' mean you can put it in food arbitrarily.