HONEY END BEEKEEPING PRODUCTS

Honey is a sweet syrupy substance produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers and used by humans as a sweetener and a spread.

Honey is composed of Honey is composed of water 18% (12-26%), invert sugar, i.e. glucose and fructose, 74% (69-75%), sucrose 1.9% (0-4%), ash 0.18% ( %), organic acids 0.1 (0.4% )

If the ratio of fructose to glucose is high, there is a tendency for the honey to crystallize

Honey Composition and color of Honey are dependent upon the type of flower that supplies the nectar.

For example, alfalfa and clover produce a white honey, heather a reddish-brown, lavender an amber hue, and acacia and sainfoin a straw color.

Most commercially available honey is blended, meaning that it is a mixture of two or more honeys differing in floral source, color, flavor, density or geographic origin.

The specific composition of any batch of honey will depend largely on the mix of flowers available to the bees that produced the honey.

An average bee colony produces lb ( kg) of honey each year. Colonies are divided by a three- tier organization of labor: 50,000-70,000 workers, one queen, and 2,000 drones.

Worker bees only live for three to six weeks, each one collecting about one teaspoon of nectar. One pound (0.454 kg)of honey requires 4 lb (1.8 kg) of nectar, which requires two million flowers to collect.

Honey Honey has played an important role in human nutrition since ancient times; until about 250 years ago, it was almost the sole sweetening agent.

monosaccharides Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose and has approximately the same relative sweetness as granulated sugar (97% of the sweetness of sucrose).

Disaccharide Honey Disaccharide Honey has attractive chemical properties for baking, and a distinctive flavor which leads some people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners

Some vegans do not eat honey as it is considered an animal product.

Honey contains trace amounts of several vitamins and minerals. As with all nutritive sweeteners, honey is mostly sugars and is not a significant source of vitamins or minerals.

It contains ( for 100 ml): Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults Riboflavin Riboflavin (Vit. B2) mg 3% Niacin Niacin (Vit. B3) mg 1% Pantothenic acid Pantothenic acid (B5)0.068 mg 1% Vitamin B6 Vitamin B mg2% Folate Folate (Vit. B9) 2 μg 1% Vitamin C Vitamin C 0.5 mg1%

Calcium Calcium 6 mg1% Iron Iron 0.42 mg3% Magnesium Magnesium 2 mg1% Phosphorus Phosphorus 4 mg1% Potassium Potassium 52 mg 1% Sodium Sodium 4 mg0% Zinc Zinc 0.22 mg 2 %

Honey also contains tiny amounts of several compounds thought to function as antioxidants, including chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase, and pinocembrin.

Honey has a density of about 1.36 kilograms per liter (36% denser than water).

Honey Honey has an incredible number of uses and properties; its an antimicrobial, a mild laxative, helps the body retain calcium, a moisturizer, aids weight loss, and never ever goes bad.

Historically, honey has been used as a folk remedy in cultures around the world for millennia. It has been prescribed informally as a cure for smallpox, baldness, eye diseases, and indigestion. Its even been used as a contraceptive.

And that list isnt even close to comprehensive. Best of all, though, honey has been a beauty secret to famous women throughout history

2700 For at least 2700 years, honey has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, but only recently have the antiseptic and antibacterial properties of honey been chemically explained.

Medicinal uses and health effects of honey

Honeys salutary effects stem primarily from its antimicrobial properties. Most bacteria and other microorganisms cannot grow or reproduce in honey.

Honey contains around 40% fructose and 30% glucose among other sugarsmaking it seemingly a great treat for microbes.

However, honey is also somewhat acidic- the pH of honey is commonly between 3.2 and 4.5 and acids prevent the growth of some bacteria.

More importantly, honey does not provide the water and oxygen needed to support bacterial growth. Although honey contains a fair amount of water, its supersaturated with sugarmeaning the water is not available to the microorganisms.

Wound Gels that contain antibacterial honey and have regulatory approval for wound care are now available to help conventional medicine in the battle against drug resistant strains of bacteria

Some studies suggest that the topical use of honey may reduce odors, swelling, and scarring when used to treat wounds; it may also prevent the dressing from sticking to the healing wound

Topical honey has been used successfully in a comprehensive treatment of diabetic ulcers when the patient cannot use other topical antibiotics

When combined with water and oxygen, glucose oxidase forms gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. This means that diluted honey can serve as an excellent antiseptic, while being far less likely than ordinary hydrogen peroxide to harm already- damaged tissue.

Antioxidants in honey have even been implicated in reducing the damage done to the colon in colitis. Such claims are consistent with its use in many traditions of folk medicine

Amazingly enough, diluted honey supports the growth of bacteria that are helpful to humans while killing off dangerous strains.

Honey appears to be effective in killing drug- resistant biofilms which are implicated in chronic rhinosinusitis.

Honey has also been used for centuries as a treatment for sore throats and coughs, and according to recent research may in fact be more effective than most common medicines

Mixed with lemon juice and consumed slowly, honey coats the throat, alleviating discomfort.

The antibacterial and antiseptic properties of honey aid in healing sore throats and laryngitis.

Honey has been shown to be effective in treating inflammation of the eyelid, some types of conjunctivitis, and keratitis (along with other forms of corneal damage).

Though widely believed to alleviate allergies, local honey has been shown to be no more effective than placebos in controlled studies of ocular allergies.

This may be because most seasonal allergies are caused by tree and grass pollens, which honeybees do not collect.

However, a recent study has shown pollen collected by bees to exert an anti allergenic effect, mediated by an inhibition of IgE immunoglobulin binding to mast cells. This inhibited mast cell degranulation and thus reduced allergic reaction.

A review in the Cochrane Library suggests that honey could reduce the time it takes for a burn to heal - up to four days sooner in some cases

BEEKEEPING PRODUCTS

Four major byproducts Four major byproducts of the honey-making process are: beeswax, pollen, royal jelly, and propolis.

Beeswax Beeswax is produced in the bee's body as the nectar is transforming into honey. The bee expels the wax through glands in its abdomen.

The colony uses the wax to cap the filled honeycomb cells. Commercially it is used in the production of drugs, cosmetics, furniture polish, art materials, and candles.

Natural beeswax ear candles, containing the essential oils of Eucalyptus, Echinacea and Tea Tree. Especially soothing during the cold and flu season and may provide relief from summer allergies and hay fever.

Bee pollen Bee pollen is a very unique fine powder formed on plants which fertilizes other plants naturally.

Pollen Pollen sticks on the worker bee's legs as she collects flower nectar.

Because pollen contains large amounts of vitamin B12 and vitamin E, and has a higher percentage of protein than beef, it is considered highly nutritious and is used to the dietary supplement

It helps to prevent many diseases and slow down the ageing process. It also reduces skin pigmentation associated with old age and enables one to live longer and healthier.

Royal jelly Royal jelly is a creamy liquid produced and secreted by the nurse bees to feed the queen.

Nutrient rich with proteins, amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, vitamins, and minerals, it is valued as a skin product and as a dietary supplement.

Proponents believe it prolongs youthfulness by improving the skin, increases energy, and helps to reduce anxiety, sleeplessness, and memory loss.

Propolis Propolis is plant resincollected by the bees from the buds of plants and then mixed with enzymes, wax and pollen.

Bees use it as a disinfectant, to cover cracks in the hive, and to decrease the hive opening during the winter months.

INGREDIENTS: micronutrients from chromium- iron- cobalt- copper- nickel- silicon- strontium- titanium- vanadium- zinc- vitamins from the group B- E- H-P, all in honey founded enzymes, a natural antibiotic. flavonols (galangine, kamferol, quercitine, chysine, aspegenine, luteoline, tectochrysine, penocembrine and tectochrysine.

Commercially it is used as a disinfectant, to treat corns, receding gums, and upper respiratory disease, and to varnish violins

Because of its unique composition and the complex processing of nectar by the bees which changes its chemical properties, honey is suitable for long term preservation and is easily assimilated even after long conservation.

History knows examples of honey preservation for decades, and even centuries. "...small residues of edible honey have even been found in the pharaoh's tombs…"

But it is not recommended to preserve the honey for longer than 2 (maximum 3) years. It is advisable to keep it in clean, hermetically sealed darkened (not lucid) vessels, or in dark and dry store-places. If excessive moisture is soaked up by the honey, it might start fermenting.

When honey remains in direct sunlight for about one day its lysozyme (an antibacterial albuminous enzyme) is destroyed. Honey should not be heated above 40°С

Honey should also be protected from oxygen inflow, which brings about accelerated crystallization. Optimal preservation temperature is +4 to +10 °C.

In many cultures, honey has associations that go far beyond its use as a food. In language and literature, religion, and folk belief, honey is frequently a symbol or talisman for sweetness of every kind.