NZ kanuka honey could treat nasty skin disease

A new treatment for a nasty skin condition suffered by tens of thousands of Kiwis could be found in honey produced from NZ's very own kanuka trees. Photo / Martin Sykes

A new treatment for a nasty skin condition suffered by tens of thousands of Kiwis could be found in honey produced from New Zealand's very own kanuka trees.

Research just published in the British Medical Journal has offered new hope for the five to 10 per cent of adults affected by rosacea -- a chronic red rash on the face, particularly on the cheeks and nose.

Presently, long-term antibiotics are used to treat the condition in the long-term, but these are considered to potentially cause side effects and add to antibiotic resistance.

In a medium-sized clinical trial, which focused on 137 people who had suffered rosacea for an average of 15 years, scientists from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand tested the impact that the medical-grade kanuka honey formulation Honevo had on the condition.

The trial showed around 65 per cent of those in trial showed an improvement, while 34 per cent showed a large improvement and in one in eight people, the disease disappeared completely.

The change was observed within just two weeks and the improvement increased when the study ended after eight weeks.

Dr Shaun Holt, science director of HoneyLab, the pharmaceutical company that makes Honevo, recently presented the findings at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting in San Francisco.

He considered the study a "major breakthrough".

Dr Hoult and his colleagues were now developing the research further with the renowned Mayo Clinic in the US, which he likened to Google signing up with a Kiwi IT company.

The current size of the rosacea market is estimated to be US$1.5 billion, but many people do not seek a treatment as a prescription from a doctor is usually required.

As the new kanuka honey treatment was available over the counter and not on prescription, the potential market was effectively twice as large and sits at around US$3 billion, Dr Hoult said.

"The study has given us a strong indication that this treatment is really effective -- and you don't need a prescription."

Dr Holt considered the results statistically and clinically significant and at least as good, if not better, than those that have been achieved for standard prescription-only treatments.

"People with rosacea often seek natural treatments rather than prescription drugs, but there are very few natural products that have successfully undergone rigorous clinical trials," he said.

"This medical-grade kanuka honey formulation delivers the best of both worlds. It's not only a natural and safe product, but it's also one that is proven to be effective to the standards of a pharmaceutical medicine."

Recent developments in the understanding of the cause of rosacea had explained why the kanuka honey formulation was so effective.

"It's now thought that the underlying causes of rosacea are mites and associated bacteria living deep in the skin in the affected area, and the rosacea symptoms are an inflammatory reaction to these.

"As medical kanuka honey is effective at killing micro-organisms and reducing inflammation this is an excellent explanation as to why kanuka honey works so well."

The Honevo product, which is presently sold as treatments for acne and nappy rash, is applied as a mask twice a day and then washes off.

Kanuka, or Kunzea ericoides, is a close relative of the manuka bush Leptospermum scoparium, and its honey is distinguished by its lighter colour than the perhaps better-known manuka honey.

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