Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
1st International Congress of Apitherapy (ICBP 2023), Düzce, Türkiye, 2 - 04 Ekim 2023, ss.65
Origin of honey is the most important factor affecting the composition of honey and its
chemical and physicochemical properties are evaluated according to its source. The source of
chestnut honey is the nectar of Castanea genus of the Fagaceace family. The thirteen known
species of chestnut trees are generally distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In
Türkiye, the ‘Castanea sativa Mill.’ species of chestnut tree grows naturally at the Black Sea,
Marmara and Aegean Regions.
Chestnut honey has a specific, strong aromatic and slightly bitter taste and ranges in color
from yellowish brown to darkish. This honey being rich in pollen content also contains a lot
of mineral substances and tannins in its composition. Chestnut honey keeps its liquid form for
a longer period of time than other honey types because of high fructose and low glucose
content and shows quite low acidity. The honey is a food which has high functional properties
due to the high levels of polyphenols (such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannins) in its
composition. In addition to being functional, honey is ideal for apitherapeutic applications
because it has high antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-tumoral
properties.
As a result of the researches; it has been determined that chestnut honey is a valuable type of
honey for apitherapy, because it has therapeutic effects on asthma and respiratory diseases,
strengthens muscles, regulates blood circulation, relieves stomach and liver fatigue, and
strengthens the immune system with its antimicrobial properties. In this study it is aimed to
reveal the properties of chestnut honey both as a functional food and as an apitherapeutic
agent.