England (Commonwealth Union) – Antioxidants play a key role in balancing damage from free radicals. The role of free radicals can vary and they generally have the positive function of fighting off pathogens. However, when they are unregulated, they are unstable which can lead to DNA damage and cause many diseases. Antioxidants regulate the instability of free radicals, hence fending off any damage caused by free radicals.
Antioxidants are found in a variety of food sources such as fruits and vegetables and a new study conducted by the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has found Citrus honey has extremely high amounts of antioxidants when contrasted with other standard types of honey. UWS scientists who led the study joined hands with a range of global partners, evaluated antioxidant activity in the most common floral honey types, such as clover, citrus and marjoram, and saw that citrus honey significantly enhanced the all-inclusive antioxidant properties.
Professor Milan Radosavljevic, Vice-Principal Research, Innovation and Engagement, stated that scientific evaluations have demonstrated that free radicals, DNA damage, and cell malignancy are sharply connected. “Our natural resources generate an abundance of produce with varied and far-reaching health benefits and research such as this is needed to highlight pragmatic opportunities to develop new, low-cost treatments and therapies for a range of illnesses and diseases,” he said.
During the period of January 1981 to September 2019, 1881 drugs have been approved for treatment against a variety of conditions, where 46 percent of the molecules used in these drugs are either natural, or acquired from natural sources.
Researchers examined honey samples from crude and prepared honey, analyzing their metabolite profiles, showing that citrus honey has the biggest antioxidant activity. Researchers attribute this to their composition with secondary compounds only present in citrus and marjoram honey like hesperetin, linalool, and caffeic acid – with higher numbers present in citrus varieties.
