New Zealand mānuka honey produced from the mānuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium) is fast becoming a staple in natural health and is found in supermarkets, health food shops and online markets worldwide.

The UMF™ Honey Association (UMFHA), provider of independent quality certification and industry services for most mānuka honey exporters, is partnering University of Waikato – Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, to support research experts and strengthen research into the fast-growing health and wellness superfood.

Initial research at the University will focus on the phenolic content of mānuka honey which is increasingly identified with positive interaction with the gut microbiome. In addition, work will increase into unique physical properties of mānuka honey to support market access and help global regulators understand why mānuka is not like other honeys.

The UMFHA is supporting the unit with seed funding, strategy development, honey samples for research and support with communications, managing local and global interest and connecting with industry to identify future research opportunities.

Early research into the health benefits of mānuka honey was pioneered 40 years ago at the University of Waikato, by Professor Peter Molan. His legacy continues through one of the students he mentored, Dr Megan Grainger, a leading mānuka researcher who now directs the resurrected Honey Research Unit.

The original Honey Research Unit, founded by Dr. Molan, focused on mānuka honey’s non-peroxide antibacterial – now known to be primarily caused by methylglyoxal.  The complexity and uniqueness of mānuka honey is widely known but there is still much to learn about the tree, nectar, honey and by-products as well as the bees that produce it.

The new unit aims to expand on university’s research foundation by becoming a global hub that connects experts from New Zealand, Europe, the UK, China, USA, and other regions – accelerate understanding of the properties of mānuka honey and its potential health benefits and applications.

A new hub will strengthen outputs, co-ordinate, accelerate and expand research, and build meaningful connections between academia, government and industry nationally and worldwide. Through collaboration the unit aims to generate robust, impactful research that expands scientific understanding and supports the growth and success of New Zealand’s apiculture sector.

The unit won’t stop there – Research on the unique mānuka tree will continue as well as research on other New Zealand native species and their honeys. The unit will also maintain bee research.

The founding members of the unit sustaining this programme will include, along with Dr Grainger (analytical chemist), category experts Associate Professor Charles Lee (microbial ecologist), Associate Professor Mike Clearwater ( plant physiologist), Emeritus Professor Merilyn-Manely-Harris (organic chemist), Dr Linda Peters (biomedical molecular genetics) and Dr Tameryn Stringer (bioinorganic chemist).

To contact UMFHA or the Honey Research Unit about opportunities to be involved with the unit to progress research (whether as a partner, supporter or research collaborator), contact research@umf.org.nz or honeyresearch@waikato.ac.nz

More information about UMFHA and the Honey Research Unit can be found at https://www.umf.org.nz/researchers/ and waikato.ac.nz/honeyresearch