Leptospermum scoparium
Encyclopedia
Leptospermum scoparium (Manuka or Tea tree or just Leptospermum) is a shrub
or small tree
native to New Zealand
and southeast Australia
. Evidence suggests that L. scoparium originated in Australia before the onset of the Miocene aridity and dispersed relatively recently from Eastern Australia to New Zealand. It is likely that on arrival in New Zealand, L. scoparium became established in limited edaphically suitable areas until the arrival of Polynesian man whose fire and forest-clearing brought about the low-nutrient-status soils for which it was pre-adapted in its homeland. It is now found throughout New Zealand
but is particularly common on the drier east coasts of the North Island
and the South Island
, and in Australia in Tasmania
, Victoria
and New South Wales
. Manuka (from Māori
'mānuka') is the common name used along with 'Jelly Bush' and 'tea tree' in Australia and to a lesser extent also in New Zealand. This name arose because Captain Cook used the leaves to make a 'tea' drink. The common name "Tea Tree" is also shared with the related Melaleuca
tree of Australia suggesting that both were used to make tea by Captain Cook.
, with dense branching and small leaves
7–20 mm long and 2–6 mm broad, with a short spine tip. The flower
s are white, occasionally pink, 8–15 mm (rarely up to 25 mm) diameter, with five petals. This species is often confused with the closely related species Kānuka – the easiest way to tell the difference between the two species in the field is to feel their foliage – mānuka leaves are prickly while kānuka leaves are soft. The wood is tough and hard.
imparts a delicious flavour when used for smoking meat
s and fish
. It is cultivated in New Zealand for the honey and pharmaceutical industries.
and E.coli.
Kakariki
parakeets (Cyanoramphus) use the leaves and bark of mānuka and kānuka to rid themselves of parasites. Apart from ingesting the material, they also chew it, mix it with preen gland oil and apply it to their feathers.
, produced when honeybees gather the nectar from its flowers, is distinctively flavoured, darker and richer in taste than clover
honey and has strong antibacterial and antifungal
properties. The finest quality mānuka honey with the most potent antimicrobial properties is produced from hives placed in wild, uncultivated areas with abundant growth of mānuka bushes. However, only a very limited number of scientific studies have been performed to verify its efficacy.
The University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand
has formed the Waikato Honey Research Unit to study the composition of honey and its antimicrobial activity. The Active Manuka Honey Association (AMHA) is the industry association that promotes and standardizes the production of mānuka honey for medical uses. They have created the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) standard which grades honey based on its anti-bacterial strength. Because of its antimicrobial properties, Manuka Honey is added in small amounts D-Dartos Oral Suspension and other products. In January 2008 Professor Thomas Henle, Dresden University of Technology
(Germany) identified methylglyoxal
as the active compound in Manuka honey. This is now shown on products as MGO Manuka honey. For example, MGO 100 represents 100 mg of methylglyoxal per kilogram.
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
or small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
native to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and southeast Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Evidence suggests that L. scoparium originated in Australia before the onset of the Miocene aridity and dispersed relatively recently from Eastern Australia to New Zealand. It is likely that on arrival in New Zealand, L. scoparium became established in limited edaphically suitable areas until the arrival of Polynesian man whose fire and forest-clearing brought about the low-nutrient-status soils for which it was pre-adapted in its homeland. It is now found throughout New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
but is particularly common on the drier east coasts of the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
and the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
, and in Australia in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Manuka (from Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
'mānuka') is the common name used along with 'Jelly Bush' and 'tea tree' in Australia and to a lesser extent also in New Zealand. This name arose because Captain Cook used the leaves to make a 'tea' drink. The common name "Tea Tree" is also shared with the related Melaleuca
Melaleuca
Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...
tree of Australia suggesting that both were used to make tea by Captain Cook.
Growth
It is a prolific scrub-type tree and is often one of the first species to regenerate on cleared land. It is typically a shrub growing to 2–5 m tall, but can grow into a moderately sized tree, up to 15 m or so in height. It is evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
, with dense branching and small leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
7–20 mm long and 2–6 mm broad, with a short spine tip. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are white, occasionally pink, 8–15 mm (rarely up to 25 mm) diameter, with five petals. This species is often confused with the closely related species Kānuka – the easiest way to tell the difference between the two species in the field is to feel their foliage – mānuka leaves are prickly while kānuka leaves are soft. The wood is tough and hard.
Uses
The wood was often used for tool handles. Mānuka sawdustSawdust
Sawdust is a by-product of cutting lumber with a saw, composed of fine particles of wood. It can present a hazard in manufacturing industries, especially in terms of its flammability....
imparts a delicious flavour when used for smoking meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
s and fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
. It is cultivated in New Zealand for the honey and pharmaceutical industries.
Health benefits
Mānuka products have high antibacterial potency for a limited spectrum of bacteria and are widely available in New Zealand and Australia. Similar properties led the Māori to use parts of the plant as natural medicine. Mānuka seed extract has exhibited antimicrobial action against S. aureusS. aureus
S. aureus may refer to:* Scleropages aureus, a proposed species of the Asian arowana, a fish species native to Southeast Asia* Senecio aureus, the golden ragwort, a perennial flowering plant species native to eastern North America...
and E.coli.
Kakariki
Kakariki
The three species of Kākāriki or New Zealand parakeets are the most common species of parakeet in the genus Cyanoramphus, family Psittacidae. The birds' Māori name, which is the most commonly used, means "small parrot"....
parakeets (Cyanoramphus) use the leaves and bark of mānuka and kānuka to rid themselves of parasites. Apart from ingesting the material, they also chew it, mix it with preen gland oil and apply it to their feathers.
Mānuka honey
Mānuka honeyManuka honey
Manuka honey is a monofloral honey made by bees in New Zealand that frequent the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium. Only 10 percent of all Manuka Honey is claimed to have antibacterial properties because of its non-hydrogen peroxide antibacterial content, which is known as NPA Manuka honey...
, produced when honeybees gather the nectar from its flowers, is distinctively flavoured, darker and richer in taste than clover
Clover
Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...
honey and has strong antibacterial and antifungal
Fungicide
Fungicides are chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill or inhibit fungi or fungal spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals...
properties. The finest quality mānuka honey with the most potent antimicrobial properties is produced from hives placed in wild, uncultivated areas with abundant growth of mānuka bushes. However, only a very limited number of scientific studies have been performed to verify its efficacy.
The University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
has formed the Waikato Honey Research Unit to study the composition of honey and its antimicrobial activity. The Active Manuka Honey Association (AMHA) is the industry association that promotes and standardizes the production of mānuka honey for medical uses. They have created the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) standard which grades honey based on its anti-bacterial strength. Because of its antimicrobial properties, Manuka Honey is added in small amounts D-Dartos Oral Suspension and other products. In January 2008 Professor Thomas Henle, Dresden University of Technology
Dresden University of Technology
The Technische Universität Dresden is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony and one of the 10 largest universities in Germany with 36,066 students...
(Germany) identified methylglyoxal
Methylglyoxal
Methylglyoxal, also called pyruvaldehyde or 2-oxopropanal is the aldehyde form of pyruvic acid. It has two carbonyl groups, so it is a dicarbonyl compound. Methylglyoxal is both an aldehyde and a ketone....
as the active compound in Manuka honey. This is now shown on products as MGO Manuka honey. For example, MGO 100 represents 100 mg of methylglyoxal per kilogram.
External links
- Identification and quantification of methylglyoxal as the dominant antibacterial constituent of Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honeys from New Zealand Dresden University of TechnologyDresden University of TechnologyThe Technische Universität Dresden is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony and one of the 10 largest universities in Germany with 36,066 students...
21 January 2008 - Antibacterial ingredient found in honey TVNZ One News 24 January 2008
- Manuka Health Limited (New Zealand) Press Release 22 January 2008
- Dream fulfilled: Professor Peter Molan's research into the medicinal applications of Manuka honey University of WaikatoUniversity of WaikatoThe University of Waikato is located in Hamilton and Tauranga, New Zealand, and was established in 1964. It has strengths across a broad range of subject areas, particularly its degrees in Computer Science and in Management...
1 May 2005 - Harnessing honey's healing power BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
8 June 2004 - Honey trialled on cancer patients BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
7 July 2006 - Honey to heal Biotechnology Learning Hub New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
- Manuka honey for wounds (V0314) video Biotechnology Learning Hub New Zealand
- First honey based wound dressing available in NZ
- Nurse Central, Australia Comvita Limited (New Zealand) Press Release 21 March 2005
- Taranaki Daily News: Honey in the money