Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Mar 24;10(4):506.
doi: 10.3390/antiox10040506.

The Sardinian Bitter Honey: From Ancient Healing Use to Recent Findings

Ignazio Floris  1 , Michelina Pusceddu  1 , Alberto Satta  1
Affiliations
Review

The Sardinian Bitter Honey: From Ancient Healing Use to Recent Findings

Ignazio Floris et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Sardinian bitter honey, obtained from the autumnal flowering of the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.), has an old fame and tradition in popular use, especially as a medicine. Its knowledge dates back over 2000 years, starting from the Greeks and Romans to the present day. There are many literary references from illustrious personalities of the past such as Cicero, Horace, Virgil, and Dioscorides, until recent times, associated with the peculiar anomaly of its taste, which lends itself to literary and poetic metaphors. The curiosity of its bitter taste is also what led to the first studies starting in the late 1800s, aimed to reveal its origin. Other studies on its botanical source and characteristics have been carried out over time, up to the most recent investigations, which have confirmed its potential for use in the medical field, thanks to its antioxidant, antiradical, and cancer-preventing properties. These benefits have been associated with its phenolic component and in particular with the prevailing phenolic acid (homogentisic acid). Later, other strawberry tree honeys from the Mediterranean area have also shown the same properties. However, Sardinian bitter honey maintains its geographical and historical identity, which is recognized by other Mediterranean cultures.

Keywords: antioxidant properties; characteristics; origin; strawberry tree honey; traditional uses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) flowers of two distinct varieties from Sardinia (Photos: Alessandro Lampis).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trends in nectar secretion of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) flower in different locations of northern Sardinia [9].
Figure 3
Figure 3
A jar of Sardinian bitter honey and its common melissopalynological spectrum (Photos: Nicola Palmieri).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The most frequent pollens recorded in Sardinian bitter honey samples (expressed as % of honey samples) [14].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Structures of floral markers of Sardinian bitter honey: (A) homogentisic acid (2,5-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid) (B) unedone, (C) (±)-2-cis,4-trans-abscisic acid, (D) (±)-2-trans,4-trans-abscisic acid) [16].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Concentration (mg/kg ± SE) of different markers (HGA—Homogentisic Acid; Unedone; t,t ABA—(±)-2-trans,4-trans-abscisic acid, t,t ABA; c,t ABA—(±)-2-cis,4-trans-abscisic acid); in nectar of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.), flowers, and trends (means among different stations ± SE) of nectar secretion during the flowering period (decades) [18].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Comparison of growth levels (colony-forming unit) [46] of the different bacterial cultures by visual assessment of partial inhibition on the agar plate with the concentration of honey [44,47] between Sardinian bitter honey from strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) and artificial honey (sugar solution) [45].
Figure 8
Figure 8
MIC—Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (% v/v) of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) honey (STH) from Sardinia (bitter honey) against different bacterial cultures [42,43].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Floris I., Prota R. Notizie di storia e tradizioni dell’apicoltura sarda. Quad. Della Camera Commer. Ind. Artig. Agric. Della Prov. Sassari. 1989;26:1–14.
    1. Floris I., Pusceddu M., Francesconi A.H.D., Satta A. In: Italian Apiculture, a Journey through History and Honey Diversity Sardinian Beekeeping. Floris I., editor. Accademia Nazionale Italiana di Entomologia; Firenze, Italy: 2020. pp. 244–265.
    1. Perroncito . Il Miele Amaro di Sardegna. Avvenire di Sardegna; Cagliari, Italy: 1889.
    1. Sanna A. Su una qualità di miele della Gallura dal sapore amaro. Ann. Chim. Appl. dell’Università Sassari. 1931:397–402.
    1. Osés S.M., Nieto S., Rodrigo S., Pérez S., Rojo S., Sancho M.T., Fernández-Muiño M.Á. Authentication of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) honeys from southern Europe based on compositional parameters and biological activities. Food Biosci. 2020;38:100768. doi: 10.1016/j.fbio.2020.100768. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources