Manuka Honey - What does UMF mean?
UMF® is an acronym for 'Unique Manuka Factor' and represents an antibacterial property which is present in Active Manuka Honey. UMF® is a floral property that comes from the nectar of Manuka flowers.
UMF® is just a way to mention the NPA but companies using it have to pay.
UMF® is a registered trademark that was coined by Dr. Peter Molan and is only available for use to licensees who subscribe to the trademark.
Correlation between chemical and biological assay for the NPA standard
The UMF Honey Association has allowed the use of methylglyoxal as a chemical marker for NPA activity. Work undertaken by UMFHA supports the use of the ammended correlation published by Waikato University and presented in the graph below.
Source
Corrigendum to ``Isolation by HPLC and characterization of the bioactive fraction of New Zealand manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey" [Carbohydr. Res. 343 (2008) 651]. Christopher. J. Adams, Cherie H. Boult, Benjamin J. Deadman, Judie M. Farr, Megan N. C. Grainger, Merilyn Manley-Harris *, Melanie J. Snow
