Manuka Honey

Leptospermum scoparium honey · Medical-grade honey

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Wound and burn dressings¹ Dry eye symptoms² Blepharitis³ Gingivitis and plaque¹ Venous ulcer infection⁴ Third molar socket healing⁵	Honey allergy¹ Allergy to bee products⁶

Manuka honey comes from bees foraging on Leptospermum scoparium in Australia and New Zealand, and is used as food and as a topical dressing for wounds, burns, and ulcers¹. Its antibacterial effect is attributed mainly to methylglyoxal¹. Practitioners meet it in wound and burn care, dry eye and eyelid disease, and oral hygiene, where trials are small¹.

Randomized trials found no significant benefit for radiation-induced oral mucositis, and a lung cancer trial found it no better than supportive care for radiation esophagitis. A 2025 meta-analysis of in vitro studies found medical-grade honey reduced Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation and disrupted established biofilms⁷. Products listing manuka honey number 909, mostly liquids with some lozenges; see Form comparison.

Infections should be examined by a physician or qualified healthcare professional rather than self-treated with honey products¹.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

59 sources, 44 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources