It’s interesting how despite all differences, a great variety of cultures all share the same remedy for cough and/or sore throat: honey.
Whether they make you drink it in tea, or give it to you straight with a spoon.
The best thing: it works. But how does it work? And how did so many different peoples come to the same conclusion?
In: 2990
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166/
The healing property of honey is due to the fact that it offers antibacterial activity, maintains a moist wound condition, and its high viscosity helps to provide a protective barrier to prevent infection. Its immunomodulatory property is relevant to wound repair too. The antimicrobial activity in most honeys is due to the enzymatic production of hydrogen peroxide. However, another kind of honey, called non-peroxide honey (viz., manuka honey), displays significant antibacterial effects even when the hydrogen peroxide activity is blocked. Its mechanism may be related to the low pH level of honey and its high sugar content (high osmolarity) that is enough to hinder the growth of microbes. The medical grade honeys have potent in vitro bactericidal activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing several life-threatening infections to humans. But, there is a large variation in the antimicrobial activity of some natural honeys, which is due to spatial and temporal variation in sources of nectar.
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