Apitherapyreview.org

Honey, very famous through antiquity, is among the major nutritional customs in Greece. The sunlight, climate , soil and the rich Greek flora biodiversity results in a wide variety of honeys such as thyme , pine and fir honey. In the Laboratory of Biological Chemistry (Medical School , University of Athens) in cooperation with Biotechnology Laboratory of Oulu University in Finland and the Department of Pharmacognosy of the University of Athens, we undertake a systematic research regarding the chemical composition and the biological properties of Greek honey extracts (thyme, pine and fir honey) . The results of our studies have been published in the international journal FOOD CHEMISTRY (article in press). Briefly, we showed that all honeys contained total phenolics, phenolic acids (p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protochatechuic acid, vanillic acid ), the content levels being highest in thyme honey. Sugars, volatile compounds, but not fatty acids, were detected in all honey extracts. Thyme, pine and fir honey showed both antiestrogenic and a weak estrogenic effect at low and high concentration in MCF-7 cells respectively. Thyme honey reduced the viability of Ishikawa and PC-3 cells, whereas fir honey stimulated the viability of MCF-7 cells. More important, thyme honey contained a unique compound [E-4-(1,2,4-Trihydroxy-2,6,6-trimethyl cyclohexyl)-but-3-en-2-one] which inhibits the viability of prostate and breast cancer cells. In conclusion, Greek honeys are very rich in phenolic compounds, they modulate estrogenic activity whereas a thyme honey-enriched diet may prevent cancer related processes in prostate, breast and endometrial cancer cells.

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