Honey bees pollinate the crops we eat and provide honey. In a study that analyzed 19 samples of honey from 14 different floral sources, University of Illinois scientists found that honey made from nectar collected from Illinois buckwheat flowers packs 20 times the antioxidant punch as that produced by bees that lap up California sage. Clover, perhaps the most common plant source tapped by honey bees, scored in the middle of the rankings.
Free radicals are atoms or molecules that are usually reactive or unstable.
In an article to be published in the Journal of Apicultural Research, the researchers say darker honey has less water and more antioxidants than light-colored honey. The antioxidant content of buckwheat honey compares favorably, pretty much bite for bite, with the ascorbic acid-related antioxidant content of tomatoes. Gram for gram, antioxidants in buckwheat honey equal that of fruits and vegetables such as sweet corn or tomatoes. It packs the antioxidant power of Vitamin C in a tomato, but most people who would be willing to eat an entire tomato would balk at eating the equivalent of a tomato's weight-worth of honey. Honey could be a supplemental source for antioxidants, the researchers concluded, noting that many fruits and vegetables often include other desirable sources for antioxidants.