Top 5 Puttu Honey Health Benefits
We know from our previous blog what Puttu honey and its significance. Now let’s look at Puttu Honey health benefits and usage directions.
About Puttu Honey
Puttu Honey is a rare variety of honey that is harvested from the crevices of termite mud nests, tree trunk holes, or other crevices that naturally occur in the forest. The comb is created by Stingless bees which are one of the tiniest bees and they are also known by the name meliponines. Meliponines have stingers, but they are highly reduced and cannot be used for their defence, though these bees exhibit other defensive behaviours and mechanisms.
Most of the Puttu honey that is harvested is found deeply rooted in the inside layers or crevices of termite mud which is also called Puttu in Tamil. Before we talk about honey, we have to discuss the significance of termite mud (Puttu). It has enormous health significance. Right from aiding in digestion to improving the skin, the benefits are numerous. We will discuss the health benefits in detail in the next blog. But for now, we will discuss the significance of the mud.
For detailed information on Puttu Honey, please refer to our blog.
Nesting Place
As the name suggests, the honeycomb hives are found in the lower reaches of the ground. As these bees cannot sting, they have a very poorly developed defense mechanism. So their best chances of survival are to build the combs deep inside crevices – inside a tree trunk, inside termite mud or deep burrows, etc. Their colony is relatively smaller in size compared to other honey bee colonies.
Significance of the nest
Most of the Puttu honey that is harvested is found deeply rooted in the inside layers or crevices of termite mud which is also called Puttu in Tamil. Before we talk about honey, we have to discuss the significance of termite mud (Puttu). It has enormous health significance. Right from aiding in digestion to improving the skin, the benefits are numerous. We will discuss the health benefits in detail in the next blog. But for now, we will discuss the significance of the mud.
Earth Element
According to Ayurveda, our body is made up of five essential elements-earth, water, air, fire, and ether. Mud, clay (or earth), can heal the body from the inside and correct any imbalance in it. It contains a lot of vital minerals which fight the bad toxins in the body. Since it has so many health benefits, it can also treat a lot of chronic health problems and cure away ailments as well. The earth element is related to the growth and development of tissues, muscles, bones, teeth, and fats. The earth makes up most of mamsa (muscle), meda (fat), and asthi (bone) of the seven dhatus. But also, each dhatu needs some amount of earth element for its form to hold.
Puttu Honey Health Benefits
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Antioxidant properties
The antioxidant activity assay for any product is based on the capability of the compounds to inhibit oxidation, thus reducing the production of free radicals that result in a chain reaction causing harmful cellular alterations. Studies have reported that antioxidant activity is significantly correlated with several healing properties, such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti cancerous, and anti-obesity activities. This is not surprising given the role of antioxidants in oxidative stress/damage is well-known and is implicated in a wide range of diseases. Higher antioxidant activities have been correlated to honey varieties with darker colors, as the dark color derives from different pigment compounds such as flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds, the compounds that provide antioxidant properties to honey. Due to the high antioxidants present in the Puttu honey, the cells in the body are less prone to damage which in turn increases the vitality and youth of a person.
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Anti-Inflammatory properties – Assists in healing wound
Inflammation is a complex immunological defense mechanism rising either against harmful stimuli or as a result of an excessive response to a normal stimulus perceived as harmful. Either way, oxidative stress plays an important role in this context as it can lead to inflammation and contribute to the worsening of the condition. Because of their strong antioxidant and therefore immunomodulatory activity, phenolic compounds have been proposed as compounds to use for anti-inflammatory therapy. Therefore, as oxidation plays an important role in the inflammation status, anti-inflammatory products like honey, rich with antioxidant substances, have been widely used to improve defence against inflammation and associated disorders.
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Anti-Obesity properties
Obesity and overweight are worldwide health concerns associated with poor quality of life, and it is one of the leading causes of many serious diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It has been reported that the high oxidative stress associated with obesity is a leading cause of inflammation. Products containing high antioxidant substances showed significant anti-obesity activity. Regular usage of Puttu honey will help to keep the weight under check and fight obesity.
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Anti Cancerous properties
It is well-known that inflammatory cells control the cancer microenvironment, while inflammation plays a crucial role in cancer progression. It is also reported in a mechanistic review that the mechanisms for anticancer activity of honey are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, apoptotic, immunomodulatory, TNF inhibiting, antiproliferative, and provide estrogenic effects.
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Antimicrobial properties
The main point of antimicrobial or antibacterial applications is to prevent or confront infections, especially during the injury period. Stingless bee honey can be used as an antibacterial ingredient in pharmaceutical formulations since it possesses antimicrobial and antiseptic properties. The antimicrobial activity of stingless bee honey was validated by using the Kirby-Bauer antibiotic test, the agar dilution test, broth microdilution, and time-kill viability assays. This study was supported by researchers from Brazil where they found that stingless bee honey can inhibit the growth of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. A unique feature of stingless bee honey is that it is stored in cerumen pots made of wax and propolis. Choudhari et al. found that propolis from India has a compelling antimicrobial property.
In Conclusion, it is very evident that Puttu Honey, although a rare commodity, has very high medicinal properties which help immensely in healing and preventing chronic diseases.
About Let’sLive
Let’sLive is a social empowerment enterprise committed to enhancing and improving the livelihoods of tribal and farming communities. We work directly with small-scale farmers so that our customers can get access to products that are natural, pristine, and picked from the lap of nature. We encourage and provide advice for practicing ethical farming and eco-friendly methods to all those who partner with us.
At Let’sLive we are passionate about bringing in 100% all-natural and healthy products directly from the farming and tribal communities to your doorstep like Pure Raw Honey, Traditional varieties of rice, etc. We want our consumers to enjoy and have direct access to the products that are pristine and picked directly from the lap of nature. The mandates by which we operate are:
* Value every life around us by encouraging ethical farming
* Leverage local knowledge and promote legacy harvesting practices with high hygienic standards
* No preservatives or artificial processing on any of our products
* Each product can be traced to its origins and the people involved in its making
* Educate consumers on the importance of consuming rich and natural local produce
References
- US National Library of Medicine – National Institute of Health
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Stingless Bee Honey, the Natural Wound Healer: A Review
– Author : Abd Jalil M.A., Kasmuri A.R., Hadi H.
Faculty of Pharmacy, and Faculty of Nursing, International Islamic University
Malaysia, Kuantan, Malaysia