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Mānuka honey as Rongoā for animals in agriculture

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posted on 2024-07-28, 21:51 authored by Sue McCoardSue McCoard, Enrique PavanEnrique Pavan, Nina ButowskiNina Butowski, Axel HeiserAxel Heiser, Tristan Vine

The Mānuka tree is unique to Aotearoa New Zealand and was recognised by early Māori traditions as a taonga (treasure) due to its wide variety of uses and is the first globally recognised taonga. Mānuka honey (MH) is reported to have exceptional antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The objective of this review is to summarise the current published peer-reviewed literature for benefits of the use of MH as a Rongoā (traditional medicine) in ruminant livestock and companion animals to support the potential use of MH as a therapeutic for companion animals and livestock. The key finding was that there is very little peer-reviewed literature providing scientific evidence for the use of MH as a therapeutic in livestock and companion animals. There are a wide range of products now commercially available that have MH as an active ingredient. However, further scientific studies are required to evaluate the direct effects of MH relative to its effects when used in conjunction with other compounds, dose–response effects, and the effect of the Unique Mānuka Factor and methylglyoxal levels on efficacy in order to provide scientific evidence to support the efficacy of MH as a functional food or therapeutic in livestock and companion animal species.

Funding

AgResearch Māori Strategic Science Investment Fund

History

Rights statement

© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.

Publication date

2023-12-05

Project number

  • PRJ0575524

Language

  • English

Does this contain Māori information or data?

  • No

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Journal title

New Zealand journal of agricultural research

ISSN

0028-8233

Volume/issue number

67(3)

Page numbers

434–450

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