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Honeydew honey: biological effects on skin cells

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Abstract

Honey is a natural product well known by humankind and now reconsidered for its use as topical agent for wound and burn treatments. Floral honey is made by honeybees from the nectar of blossoms, while honeydew honey is prepared from secretions of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects. Chemical composition is different between blossom and honeydew honeys and there is very few information about the biological properties of honeydew honey. So, this study was specifically designed to explore the potential wound healing effects of the honeydew honey. We used in vitro scratch wound healing model consisting of fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Data showed that honeydew honeys is able to increase wound closure by acting both on fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Based on our findings, honeydew honey has the potential to be useful for clinical settings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DiSIT- Dipartimento di Scienze e Innovazione Tecnologica, University of Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”, Viale Teresa Michel 11, 15121, Alessandria, Italy

    Simona Martinotti & Elia Ranzato

  2. Department of Pharmacy, Università di Napoli Federico II, Via D. Montesano 49, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Giorgio Calabrese

Authors
  1. Simona Martinotti
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  2. Giorgio Calabrese
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  3. Elia Ranzato
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Correspondence to Simona Martinotti.

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Martinotti, S., Calabrese, G. & Ranzato, E. Honeydew honey: biological effects on skin cells. Mol Cell Biochem 435, 185–192 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-017-3067-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-017-3067-0

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