There are many types of honey on the market (e.g., manuka, pasture, jelly, cider [Ziziphus spina-christi], sumra, and jungle honey), and these varieties are due to ingredients harvested from various botanical sources. In fact, honey is used not only as a food but also as traditional medicine and has numerous other uses. Honey can be defined as a naturally sweet substance produced by the insect (bee) Apis mellifera after collecting nectar from plants and other sources and in combination with certain substances produced by the bee. You can also search for the best honey brand in Pakistan.
How to Dry or Stored Honey?
The resulting material is deposited, dried, stored, and left in the combs to mature. During the same journey, bees feed on different plants, so honey is always a mixture of different sources and no two kinds of honey are alike (Nouvian, Hotier, Claudianos, Giurfa, & Reinhard, 2015). In general, honey contains about 80% carbohydrates (35% glucose, 40% fructose, and 5% sucrose), and the rest (20%) consists of water and some other active biomolecules (such as amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, organic acids, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds) (Finola, Lasagno, & Marioli, 2007; Yücel & Sultanoǧlu, 2013).
How Many Types of bees in Pakistan?
There are four species of bees honey in Pakistan. Three of them have been domesticated and one has been introduced and settled in Pakistan. The native species are Apis dorsata, Apis cerana, and Apis florea and the western species is Apis mellifera, which is found mainly in the Himalayan region of Pakistan.
Honey bee Mellifera
Apis dorsata, also known as the giant bee, is a species of bee native to South and Southeast Asia, found primarily in wooded areas. It usually measures between 17 and 20 mm long. Nests are mainly built in exposed places such as tree branches, under rock walls, and sometimes on the roof of buildings.
Royal jelly
Apis cerana is an oriental bee. It is also known as the Asian bee. It is native to southern, southeastern, and eastern Asia. Apis koschevnikovi is the sister species of Apis cerana and both belong to the same subgenus of Japanese honey bees.
Apis cerana
The Japanese honeybee (Apis florea) is one of two small species of wild bees found in South and Southeast Asia. Its range is much wider than that of its sister species Apis and reniformis.
Apis mellifera (royal jelly)
The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is called the European honey bee and in Indonesia Apis mellifera. The bee is classified as benign (it cannot be attacked or stung easily). The Melifera bee species was discovered in Indonesia, but the idea was brought by Australian beekeepers in the early 1970s. Attempts were also made to plant it in Central Java with mainland China. Currently, Mellifera bees are readily available in Central Java (Pati, Jepara, Batang, Boyolari, Semarang, Waterford), East Java (Malang, Pasuruan, Probolinggo, Banyowangit, Kediri). West Java (Sukabumi), Yogyakarta and Papua (Wamena) are available.
Health Benefits of Honey
- The health benefits of honey depend on its quality and purity, which derive from naturally harvested substances. Monofloral honey is defined as a type of honey that has a high market value due to its particular aroma and other properties derived mainly from the nectar of a single plant species (Cotte, Casabianca, Chardon, Lheritier, & Grenier-Loustalot, 2004). Monofloral cider honey is found in the desert areas of Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the Potohar region of Pakistan (Al-Waili, Salom, Butler, & Al Ghamdi, 2011).
- Honey has the ability to kill microorganisms, and this ability is due to the high osmolarity and high pH, hydrogen peroxide, and phytochemical nature of honey (Molan, 2015). The antimicrobial potential depends on various factors such as honey type, geographical location, and botanical nature (Jull et al., 2015). Honey has been reported to have an inhibitory effect on about 62 bacterial species (aerobes and anaerobes, gram-positive and negative) (Hussain et al., 2015; Patton, Barrett, Brennan, & Moran, 2006).
Orange Honey
Orange honey is a widely used remedy for liver disease, stomach ulcers, lung infections, effects of malnutrition, digestive problems, constipation, eye infections, infections after burns, wounds, and surgery, and general health and vitality. Spider honey is known for its potent antioxidant and antibacterial effects (Alandejani, Marsan, Ferris, Slinger, & Chan, 2009). Many types of honey (locally produced and imported) are available in the Saudi market. Some of them are used in traditional medicine.
The Most Famous Bee
When it comes to bees, the Japanese bee is the most famous. They have been domesticated for honey production and crop pollination, and modern humans enjoy the wax for candles and other crafts. Bees represent only a small portion of the approximately 20,000 species of bees known today.
Pests and Harmless Bees
Some species of bees produce and store honey and are used by humans for this purpose, including the stingless bee, but only members of the bee genus are true bees.
Read:How to Find Best Honey brand in Pakistan & How Many Types of Honey?