Having a high regard for science comes with the territory in medical manufacturing. We tend to make our decisions based on the data we can gather from experiments, tests, and proofs – particularly when it comes to the efficacy of wound healing products.
As such, we are certain that when someone says that you should put honey on a wound, they may sound a little like a snake oil salesman. However, that’s not at all true when it comes to Manuka honey. Manuka honey comes from New Zealand – harvested from the unexpected marriage of the native Manuka bush and the foreign English honeybee. While the oil, bark, and leaves had been used for centuries by the Maori in a medicinal capacity, it was only once the English honeybee came together with the plant that there was a true explosion in how the derivative could be used in modern biomedical products.
While people still use Manuka honey to sweeten their tea, PolarSeal uses Manuka honey to speed up wound healing. Manuka honey is an active ingredient, and there is evidence for it being both antibacterial and antiviral. While all honey contains the antibiotic agent hydrogen peroxide, Manuka honey contains a unique chemical called methylglyoxal (MGO), which has proven efficacy in guarding against viral infections. This abundance of MGO makes Manuka a fantastic topical ointment, particularly when it comes to wound care. Impregnation of an active ingredient such as Manuka honey in a bandage is already an FDA-approved wound dressing product.
Adding honey to a bandage has a homey feel to it – but Manuka honey, being a commodity from a relatively small corner of the globe, isn’t necessarily going to be sitting in everyone’s medicine cabinets waiting to be applied to bandages. This makes it our responsibility, as wound care product manufacturers, to see that this efficacious method can get wider distribution. Advanced wound care companies have an opportunity to harness this wonder-product and make our new wound care products that much more useful. Choosing a contract medical manufacturer (CMO) like PolarSeal with experience in working with Manuka – amongst other natural remedies – is an absolute must. Having experience in how to manufacture active ingredients in tandem with advanced wound care products can give you options on how best to make use of this product. For example, whether you want to produce it in liquid applications or as an active ingredient embedded in a dressing: an experienced CMO will be able to give you a plethora of options and opinions from their R&D prototype teams that have worked with it in the past.
Thinking outside the box always pays dividends – and analysing the health benefits of honey on the outside of the body, as opposed to just digestion, is a great example. Manuka honey can speed up healing, stave off infection, and is even good for the skin – so who wouldn’t want to use it as an active ingredient in wound care manufacturing? If you’re interested in integrating Manuka into your manufacturing, contact PolarSeal today to learn more.
