Discovered an Antiviral Agent Found Only in Domestic Chestnut Honey

Korean Medicine Research Institute, Paper Presentation

The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine announced on the 20th that it has identified a component in domestically produced chestnut honey with a unique and powerful antiviral effect.

Dr. Choi Jang-gi's team at the Institute's Center for Applied Oriental Medicine Technology published a research paper on this topic in the international journal Frontiers in Immunology on the 22nd of last month.

Chestnut honey is produced in mid-June after acacia honey and is known for its strong taste and aroma. It contains various nutrients such as amino acids, minerals, and vitamins, which contribute to immune enhancement, relief of asthma, and bronchial inflammation. Additionally, it is effective in antibacterial action and is known to have various physiological effects including fatigue recovery, cholesterol reduction, anticancer effects, and anemia prevention.

In experiments using immune cells, the research team confirmed that chestnut honey inhibited influenza A virus infection by 62.2%. In mouse animal experiments, administration of domestically produced chestnut honey (600 mg/kg) showed a 17.3% recovery effect after weight loss caused by viral infection. The survival rate increased by 60%.

Evaluation of NK cell activity in the spleen (an immune cell-producing organ) of mice showed that NK cell activity increased 4.6 times after chestnut honey consumption. Furthermore, interferon beta, an innate immune factor, increased 4.3 times in the serum of mice. During viral infection, the expression of viral proteins and inflammatory responses increase in the lung tissue of mice; however, mice that consumed chestnut honey (600 mg/kg) showed reduced viral protein expression and maintained inflammation levels at normal levels, similar to healthy mice. In conclusion, chestnut honey enhanced immunity by increasing innate immune factors and immune cell activity and exhibited antiviral effects by suppressing virus-induced inflammatory responses.

It was also found that kynurenic acid in chestnut honey improves immunity. Kynurenic acid is present in very high amounts in chestnut honey (1168 mg per 1 kg). Except for Hovenia dulcis honey (166.4 mg/kg), it is hardly detected in other nectar sources, making it a potential marker substance for chestnut honey.

Dr. Choi stated, “This study scientifically proved the excellence of domestically produced chestnut honey. Based on this, we hope that domestically produced chestnut honey can be utilized not only as a general food but also as a high value-added material in the health functional food and pharmaceutical industries, which will also benefit beekeeping farms.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.