Bees/or Development Journal 88
PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING
HONEY
3. Drop liquid into water and observe. If it sinks without mixing with the water it is honey, otherwise it is adulterated. 4. Dip a matchstick into the liquid and then strike the match. the substance is honey, otherwise it is adulterated or fake.
LOCAL TESTS
AND THERAPIES Emmanuel Olagbaju, Nigeria
If it
ignites
Honey adulteration Sugar Syrups, corn syrups, and syrups of natural origin such as maple, cane sugar, beet sugar and molasses are used to adulterate honey. Informed consumers are able to taste the difference between these and real honeys, Dut laboratory tests are needed to prove the difference. This
is why honey marketing is so dependent upon building consumer trust that the product being bought is real honey. Some people think that
Adulterated honey Awareness of the importance of honey is increasing and nowadays it can be difficult to find sufficient honey to meet the growing demand. However, there is slow advance in the apiculture sector, and even little involvement in it, resulting in low supplies of local honey. Instead of researching ways by which these low supplies can be improved, many honey vendors have developed methods for adulterating honey.
Consumers want authentic honey and users are concerned how to distinguish real from adulterated honey. Interviews revealed the
wing ideas:
haney which has crystals in it may be adulterated with sugar but this is not the case - crystallisation of honey is a normal process.
Testing for adulteration with sugar A laboratory test would have to be performed on the sugars present in the honey and the results compared with the national or internationa!
honey standard. Evidence of a large proportion of glucose compared to fructose would suggest sugar had been added.
Checking for adulteration with water
1. Dip your finger into the liquid. As you lift your finger out, observe whether the substance drops immediately - if it does drop
straigntaway, then
it
is not honey. (Honey is very viscous).
2. Drop some liquid to the ground and observe. Honey does not flatten, but forms small balls: if the liquid does otherwise it is not honey.
Honey with a high water content may be unripe (harvested too soon), or may be a mixture of honey and water. tn either circumstance the honey
quality is poor and fermentation may result. Water content is tested with a refractometer. Unadulterated, ripe honey has a water content of 23% or lower.
In addition to sweetening, honey is used in Nigeria for the treatment and prevention of various ailments. Here we illustrate some of our local applications of honey and its use in herbal treatments and remedies, where we believe that honey plays a vital role. The information was obtained from several honey users - see table below.
Disease/ailment
Recipe
Dosage
Management of asthma
1. Pound equal proportions of bitter kola and garlic together. Add honey
One glass
2. Grind common cress seeds to a powder
2 lablespoons every 4 hours daily
3 times daily
Mix with honey
Trherculosis
Pneumonia
Grind one unit of garlic, one unit of ginger, a few African peppers, a few bitter kola nuts and mix. Add pure honey
2 lablespoons every 4 hours daily
Grind the garlic. Mix with limes and grapes.
2 tablespoons every 3 hours
Add at least
1
glass of pure honey
Unripe palm kernel nut, aloe vera juice and honey
Prevention of fibroid
Mix equal quantities of sorrel (Isapa pupa in Yoruba language
Insomnia
Chew at least 25-30 unripe palm kernel nuts, take one glass of aloe vera and honey 7
glass daily
or Soborodo in Hausa language) and pure honey
Nappy (diaper) rash in babies
|
Red ackarnival (a flower), locally-produced soap (palm oil and | Bathe the baby using the soap. ashes mixed), limes, shea butter and honey Apply the cream after bathing For soap: pound the flower with the soap, add 5 limes.
For cream: mix shea butter and honey
Stomach ulcer
1. Pound guava leaves and add water. Add one bottle of honey
2. Mix % cup of pure honey with fresh, warm cows’ milk. Add a spoonful of dried banana skin powder. Stir all together
Coughs and colds
Grind onion, ginger, garlic, and bitter kola. Mix in palm kernel oil. Add honey
1
glass 3 times daily
1
cup,
7
spoonful 3 times daily
2 times daily, for
2
months
