Manuka honey is harvested in New Zealand from bees that pollinate the Manuka bush. The natives of New Zealand, known as the Maori people, named their tea tree species “Manuka”. Manuka is a type of tea tree!

The reason Manuka honey is special because of a naturally occurring compound called methylglyoxal, or MGO for short. MGO is has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral properties. Manuka honey also has anti-oxidant properties.

Many other honey types have anti-bacterial characteristics, mostly from peroxide. But Manuka honey has an extra kick that is tough to match! It’s consumed more for the supplemental value, rather than a table honey. The rarity explains why it’s more expensive than other honey varieties. In fact, Manuka honey is the most expensive honey in the world. The price of Manuka can range, mostly based on the amount of MGO in the honey. The higher the concentration of MGO, the higher the price.

There are too many rating systems which are used by different companies. The simplest method of rating is the MGO system, which simply tells the amount of MGO in grams per kilogram of honey. The UMF rating is a second system, but their ratings directly correspond to the amount of MGO in the honey. In other words, you can look at the UMF number of 15+, for example, and that will correspond to roughly an MGO value of 513+. That means both the UMF 15+ and an MGO 513+ have at least 513 grams of MGO per kilogram of honey.

It’s used to support the immune system, fight colds, help with ulcers, and especially skin ailments.