“Testing for Methylglyoxal is a clear and unambiguous way of letting consumers know that the unique high bioactivity of this honey is really, special and only applicable to the MGO Manuka Honey.”
Quate from Professor Peter Molan – discoverer UMF – University of Waikato (New Zealand)
Professor Peter Molan was affiliated with the University of Waikato until 2015, where since 1985 he and his team from the Waikato Honey Research Unit have been researching the special effect of Manuka Honey.
The groundbreaking work that he published resulted in numerous scientific publications, in particular about the special effect of Manuka Honing; especially in the medical field.
Professor Peter Molan’s publications have focused on various physical conditions, foreign bacteria and the treatment of wounds with Manuka Honey.
Professor Peter Molan already had a strong suspicion about this effect, which he called UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) and which was compared with a certain percentage of phenol solution. UMF and NPA are the same modes of testing. He called this 5+, 10+, 15+, 20+ and 25+ and corresponded to the respective phenol percentages of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. This test method was found to be inaccurate due to the many error margins in the test results. However, he and his team were unable to identify the active compound at the time.
Unique Manuka Factor (UMF®) values are not directly measured in the laboratory, but Unique Manuka Factor (UMF®) values are calculated from the measured concentration of Methylglyoxal in the honey according to the client’s requirements. The calculation is based on the published data (*) where UMF and Methylglyoxal concentrations are measured in a series of honey samples. These calculated values and test method are not accredited by IANZ and do not imply that the honey is or is not Manuka honey. UMF values less than 5 are estimated based on extrapolation of the relationship between Methylglyoxal and UMF.
The test method for measuring Methylglyoxal concentrations is accredited by IANZ.
*Isolation by HPLC and characterisation of the anti********* active fraction of New Zealand manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey. C. J. Adams, et al. Carbohydrate Research 343 (2008) 651-659. And, Corrigendum to ‘‘Isolation by HPLC and characterization of the anti******** active fraction of New Zealand manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey” [Carbohydr. Res.
343 (2008) 651]. Carbohydrate Research 344 (2009) 2609. C. J. Adams, et al.
Since 2008, Professor Peter Molan has worked closely with Professor Thomas Henle and fully supported his colleague’s findings. Methylglyoxal was the connection to what Professor Peter Molan had been looking for all his life. Professor Peter Molan passed away in September 2015.
Professor Thomas Henle discovered this connection in 2006; Methylglyoxal.
