Thursday, August 09, 2007

Study Identifies Honey Component that Stimulates Immune Cells

A 5.8-kDa Component of Manuka Honey Stimulates Immune Cells Via TLR4
Journal of Leukocyte Biology, August 3, 2007

Abstract: Honey is used as a therapy to aid wound healing. Previous data indicate that honey can stimulate cytokine production from human monocytes. The present study further examines this phenomenon in manuka honey...

To identify the component responsible for inducing cytokine production, honey was separated by molecular weight using microcon centrifugal filtration and fractions assessed for stimulatory activity.

The active fraction was analyzed by MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy, which demonstrated the presence of a number of components of varying molecular weights. Additional fractionation using miniaturized, reverse-phase solidphase extraction resulted in the isolation of a 5.8-kDa component, which stimulated production of TNF-alpha via TLR4.

These findings reveal mechanisms and components involved in honey stimulation of cytokine induction and could potentially lead to the development of novel therapeutics to improve wound healing for patients with acute and chronic wounds.

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