Makshika honey is Laghu (lighter than Kshaudra), Ruksha (dry), is the best and especially beneficial in diseases like asthma. Kshaudra honey is specially Sheetha (cold), Laghu (light – easy to digest) and Lekhana (anti-obesive). Bhramara honey is Guru (heavy – not easily digested) because of its Picchila (slimy) and Ati Swadu (excessively sweet) properties. Pauttika honey is Ruksha (dry), Ushna (hot), it increases Vata, Rakta and Pitta, and this is also Chedana (liquefaction), produces heart burn and is intoxicative due to inherent poisonous nature. Pauttika, Bhramara, Ksaudra, Makshika, Chatra, Arghya, Auddalaka and Dala Madhu.
Paittaka honey is produced by a large type of bee and is of the color of ghee.Īccording to Susrutha Samhita, honey is of eight types. Kshaudra honey is produced by a small type of honey bee and is brown in color. It is Guru (heavy) and is of white color. Bhramara honey is produced by the Bhramara type of bee. This type of honey is of the color of Tila Taila (sesame oil). Makshika, the best type of honey is produced by reddish variety of honey bee. They are Makshika, Bhramara, Kshaudra and Paittaka. Types, Qualities and Properties of bee’s honey according to AyurvedaĪccording to the Charaka Samhita, honey is of four types. As bee’s honey has wide and vivid values, the present survey is conducted in order to view some benefits of honey as a medicine, cosmetic, nutrient and a preservative. In Islam, Prophet Mohammad strongly recommended honey for healing purposes and Quran promotes it as a nutritious and healthy food. Traditionally slices of apples dipped in honey are eaten to bring a sweet new year.
In Jewish tradition, honey is the symbol of new year, ‘Rosh Hashana’. Honey is poured over the statues of deities in a ritual called ‘ Madhu Abhisheka’. Hindus consider bee’s honey as one of the five elixirs of immortality ( Panchamruta). This is to commemorate the offering of honey by a monkey to Lord Buddha when he retreated to wilderness due to a dispute among his disciples. Buddhists in India and Bangladesh celebrate a festival called ‘ Madhu Purnima’ by giving bee’s honey to monks. Honey is one of the foods which have religious significance. They suck nectar from flowers and convert it into honey. Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Apis mellifera, Apis floria, Apis andreniformis, Apis koschevnikov, and Apis laborisa are the varieties of bees that make honey. The flowers which give beauty to the forest also provide foods to bees. The reproduction of plants helps to maintain the equilibrium of the environment and bees help this process by pollinating flowers. Environment supplies every need of the forest and reproduction is essential in maintaining this chain. Though silent, it provides an everlasting, priceless service to the world. Bee’s honey could be considered as one of the finest products of nature that has a wide range of beneficial uses.įorest is the heart of environment.
Highly popular in cosmetic treatment, bee’s honey is used in preparing facial washes, skin moisturizers, hair conditioners and in treatment of pimples. Old bee’s honey is used to treat vomiting, diarrhea, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, diabetes mellitus and in preserving meat and fruits. It promotes semen, mental health and used in cosmetic purposes. Fresh bee’s honey is used in treatment of eye diseases, throat infections, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, hiccups, thirst, dizziness, fatigue, hepatitis, worm infestation, constipation, piles, eczema, healing of wounds, ulcers and used as a nutritious, easily digestible food for weak people. Synonyms, details of formation, constitution, properties, and method of extraction and the usages of bee’s honey are gathered from text books, traditional and Ayurvedic physicians of Western and Southern provinces, villagers of ‘Kalahe’ in Galle district of Sri Lanka and from few search engines. The aim of this survey is to emphasize the importance of bee’s honey and its multitude of medicinal, cosmetic and general values. In Sri Lanka, the predominant honey-maker bee is Apis cerana. According to modern scientific view, the best bee’s honey is made by Apis mellifera (Family: Apidae).
Their effects differ and ‘ Makshika’ is considered medicinally the best. There are many types of bee’s honey mentioned in Ayurveda. Bee’s honey is one of the most valued and appreciated natural substances known to mankind since ancient times.