Honey Hygiene Flashcards
What do bees eat?
Nectar
What is nectar made of?
Mainly sucrose
How is honey made?
Nectar enters honey sac and mixed with invertase
Hydrolysed into fructose and glucose
Regurgitated into storage cells to recuse water content
Capped with layer of wax
what are the components of honey?
82% sugars
(Fructose, glucose mostly)
17% Water
1% other pharmacoactive substances
What causes antimicrobial properties of honey
Low water activity
H2O2
Bioactive compounds
Bioactive compounds in honey
Methylglyoxal (MGO)
Bee defensin-1
Melanoidins
Jelleins
Methylglyoxal (MGO)
Powerful glycating agent
Adds sugars to DNA and proteins
Prevents cells division and DNA replication
Bee defensin-1
Antimicrobial peptide
Perforates bacterial membranes
Melanoidins
Maillard reaction-like products
Interaction of sugars and amino acids
Jelleins
Antimicrobial peptide
Interacts with sugars and amino acids
Significancs of botulism
Viable spores of Cl. botulinum can be found in honey
DO NOT GIVE TO INFANTS <12 months
They have immature gut flora which can’t compete
Significance of residues in honey
Very few products are authorised in UK apiculture
VMD is responsible for testing in the UK
Examples of residues in honey
Chloramphenicol
Streptomycin
Tetracyclines
Sulphonamides
Organophosphates
Economic and environmental value of bees
Honey
Medicinal products
Cosmetics
Pollination of crops for produce
What is the green revolution?
The agriculture movement the led to industrialisation of farming
