Honey is also known as natural sweet and has been used by humans since long time ago as a sweetening agent either in form of food supplement or as medicine. It has its own social, cultural, medicinal and folk use depending upon the community and place. Similarly, various ancient medicinal system has been using honey as medicine.
Honey In Ayurveda
In ayurveda, honey is called as madhu. The name madhu refers to sweet taste. In ayurveda honey has been used for various medicinal purpose. Honey in ayurveda, is used as sahapana(simultaneous ingestion) with various drug of ayurveda. Honey has madhur rasa(sweet taste), kasaya(astringent) uparasa, rukshya guna, sheet virya and shushma margagami (capability to travel in microchannels of body). Due to its shushms margagami property is has been used as sahapana(simultaneous ingestion) with various drugs. Ayurveda describes various property of honey like vranaropana, sodhan, ropana, sandhana. Due to its vranaropana property application of madhu is regarded as one of the upakrama among sixty upakramas of vrana management. Beside above properties, ayurveda also explains honey to stimulate digestive fire and increase appetite .i.e.agnidipana. Some other properties of honey are hridya.i.e.cardio-protective, krimi-vishprashaman .i.e. antibiotic and antitoxic, chashushya .i.e. beneficial for eyes.
