HONEY
I have a long held interest in mānuka honey. I have been involved in various projects including isolating MGO, creating a forecast model to predict the concentration of MGO in honey as it ages, C4 sugar adulteration, analysis of compounds in honey.
I have been involved in honey research since 2006. I am mainly focused on manuka honey and have been involved in a number of research topics.
Isolation of methylglyoxal (MGO)
Kinetics of conversion of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) to methylglyoxal (MGO) – Forecasting Model
Formation of HMF in honey
Why manuka honey fails the C-4 sugar adulteration test
High pressure processing of honey
Detection of DHA in manuka nectar
MĀNUKA HONEY
Mānuka honey is well known for it's non peroxide antibacterial (NPA) properties. This is also known as the Unique Mānuka Factor (UMF). Methylglyoxal (MGO) is the compound responsible for the non-peroxide antibacterial properties. The more MGO present in the honey, the higher the antibacterial rating and the more the honey is worth.
CONVERSION OF DHA TO MGO
MGO is not present in fresh honey, but increases overtime due to a chemical conversion from a compound called dihydroxyacetone (DHA) which is present in the mānuka nectar.
Batches of mānuka honey vary in DHA and MGO concentration due to factors such as differences in trees, geographical location and dilution from non-mānuka nectar.
Originally the conversion of DHA to MGO was not well understood and beekeepers and honey producers did not know how long to store their honey to reach maximum potential.
I carried out research to create a forecast model which predicts the concentration of MGO overtime when honey is stored at particular temperatures over time. This was the first forecast model created for mānuka honey. It is now a commonly used tool by beekeepers and honey producers.
TESTING MĀNUKA FOR SUGAR ADULTERATION
High grade mānuka honey often fails the test due to a phenomenon other than sugar adulteration.
Due to the high price of mānuka honey, it can be susceptible to fraud.
Honey that is exported overseas needs to be tested by the internationally recognized C4 sugar adulteration method (AOAC 998.12).
However, mānuka honey with high NPA activity (i.e. 10+) fails the test due to false positive results.
I have carried out research to show that DHA and/or MGO affect the analytical test resulting in false-positive fails.