the best tualang honey

Rainforest honey aka Tualang honey – an exotic, tasty and healthy ambrosia!

Rainforest honey is also known as tualang honey. An exotic honey, produced in completely different conditions than our regular honey. What it is more interesting is that plenty of scientists say its properties are similar to the well-researched manuka honey, even more effective against some gram-negative bacterial strains in burn wounds.

It was proved to have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimutagenic, antitumor, and antidiabetic properties, of course in addition to wound-healing attributes. Recent studies pointed out its effectiveness in the treatment of breast cancer and leukemia.
Highly recommended in postmenopausal state tualang honey is considered by some to be the natural equivalent of hormone replacement therapy.

Yesterday I received a jar with this ambrosia from Wiidly, a well-known company that sells honey harvested from the rainforest of Taman Negara – The National Park of Peninsular Malaysia.

my jar of tualang honeyThis honey reminded me of our European forest honey, the one we also call honeydew honey, though enriched with a gingerly exotic touch. It is not that sweet and has a smoky flavor and a stingy aftertaste.
It was not crystallized, like honeydew honey is always (for at least 2 years).

It’s different than manuka honey. It’s darker (which indicates the presence of more antioxidants) and more runnier. This is due to its higher water content, around 23.3%, because in Malaysia rains a lot more than in New Zealand (manuka honey has 18.7% water content).

It’s less sweet than manuka. It has 29.6% fructose, while manuka has 40%, and 30% glucose while manuka has 36%. It has almost no sucrose content, while manuka still has 2.8%.

Tualang honey contains more phenolic acids and flavonoids than Manuka honey and other local Malaysian honeys. Hence its high antioxidant powers.

The only downside of this jar of honey is that it is too small for my honey appetite. I’m continually tasting it and I’m afraid it won’t last to be enjoyed in my favorite Greek style: sprinkled over goat yogurt with walnuts….

Here are the main differences between regular honey and rainforest honey:

 Regular honey 

Tualang (rainforest) honey

– produced by Apis Mellifera (domesticated honey bees) in combs found inside closed beehives;
– harvested by beekeepers;
– high viscosity (low water content)
– produced by Apis Dorsata (wild giant bees) in combs found in open spaces, on high cliffs or tall trees;
– harvested by honey hunters;
– low viscosity (higher water content)

But the moisture is the first thing that strikes us when seeing it. In the jungle there is a lot of moisture. It rains a lot. The nectar of flowers contains more water than we usually find in flowers from arid areas. Both types of honey produced in the jungle of Malaysia, the tualang honey (made by the giant wild bees) and kelulut honey (made by the tiny stingless bees), the first produced from the biggest flowers of the jungle, the latter from the smallest ones, are very liquid. With a high water content.

Honeys with high water content tend to ferment, to spoil. To prevent this, the sellers of kelulut honey pasteurize it. Wiidly company does not pasteurize its tualang honey, but still uses a machine to dry it a little. They keep the honey on wide trays in a special room and use a dehumidifier called honey-drier to force honey to evaporate. (It’s a process that mimics the fanning of the honey bees while maturing the honey.)
This manual process is slow and can take up to 2 weeks, depending on the amount of honey. This is a standard moisture-reducing procedure also practiced by beekeepers worldwide, including Europe.

The tualang tree

Tualang is the name of Asia’s tallest tree (growing up to 80 meters high), Koompassia excelsa, also known as Tapang, or Mengaris. It is found in the lowland rainforests of southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Northeastern Sumatra, Borneo, and Palawan. The bees make their combs high on its branches, far from the predators of the jungle. Their only enemies are the big birds and humans. And the Tropilaelaps mite, a devastating parasite with an expanding distribution. (more here.)

The wild bees Apis Dorsata 

The bees that produce this honey are called Apis dorsata and though they look very similar to Apis mellifera, are almost twice the length of them, reaching up to 3 cm (1.2 in). That’s why they are called “the giant honey bees”. They are found throughout the southern countries of Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines and are considered one of the most dangerous animals of the southeastern Asian jungles due to their threatening defensive behaviors.

Apis dorsata builds open nests that hang from under thick tree branches or under cliffs. They build a single large comb up to 150 cm in length and 70 cm tall. The comb is permanently covered by a curtain of up to 100,000 worker bees. This curtain is several layers of bees thick and forms a protective barrier separating the vulnerable brood from the environment. This curtain is sufficient to protect the nest during storms with heavy wind and rain.

tualang honey aka rainforest honey are made by apis dorsata giant bees

Some of the larger colonies can contain up to 15 kg (33 lbs.) of honey. In addition to honey, the wax and bee brood are also sold at a significant price.

Due to their large size Apis Dorsata have a greater flight and foraging range than those of other honey bee species. They perform seasonal long-distance migrations in order to exploit the nectar and pollen resources available at different times throughout many parts of southern Asia and collect nectar only from the bigger flowers found in the jungle. That is why, the honey they produced is so much different that the one produced by their tiny relatives, the stingless bees – which collect from the smallest flowers of the jungle and make what we call kelulut honey, or trigona honey.

Apis dorsata are considered the most defensive of all of the honey bees, even more defensive than the African honey bee. Their main weapons are stingers that are up to 3 mm long and easily penetrate clothing and even the fur of a bear. But like Apis mellifera, after the sting they will die, too. But unlike them, Apis Dorsata will also buzz loudly and bite the threat to deter it, without risking the life of many individuals. Clever girls!

honey hunterThese smart and dangerous bees have developed 2 effective colony defense systems to protect their exposed combs.
1. An alarmed guard bee will fly back to the nest and, with an exposed stinger, run in a zigzag pattern along the curtain of bees. The bees will then run to the lower rim of the comb and create large thin chains of bees while making a hissing sound. This act not only prepares the guard bees for attack, but also makes the nest look larger than it is. This defense is particularly useful against bird predators that try to rip sections of brood from the comb, because the birds often attack the bottom of the comb, grabbing only handfuls of bees.

2. Shimmering. Shimmering involves a display of waves which moves across the surface of the nest in a fraction of a second as the bees raise their abdomens in a sequential order. These waves originate from individual bees which perceive a predator and raise their abdomen first, invoking a similar response from the surrounding bees. The visual display of shimmering is thought to intimidate potential threats such as predatory wasps, birds, and mammals.

Traditional honey gathering is usually done on a moonless night to minimize the number of flying bees once the colony is disturbed. They use ropes or ladders to reach the top of the trees and a flame is used to knock the bees off of the comb.

At Wiidly things are different. The harvesters collect the honey during daytime, mostly to avoid the dangers brought by the night (elephants, wild boars, bears and tigers, snakes, spiders and so on). They set their camp on flat land (though the jungle is more hills and streams) usually within 45 – 1.30 hours of walking from the harvest area. The camp site is usually set near the water source rather than near the tree as the bees are extremely territorial and violent. Having a tent near their colony would be simply asking for trouble.
If the honey to be harvest is too much, the length of the harvest will be extended, a few group members would go back to facility to filter the honey and remove the bees and honeycomb from the honey first. The separation must be done immediately to ensure honey quality is at its best.

In Taman Negara the honey hunters harvest the combs following the bee migration. There are different blooming seasons in the tropical rainforest and at the end of each flowering season in a specific area, the bees will migrate to another area where different types of plants start blooming, forming another colony on different trees nearby the area. The harvesters take all the combs nearing the end of the flowering season, when the bees are about to migrate. But if the flowering season for some flowers is still on, the harvesters take will take roughly around 50% or lesser, leaving the rest for the bees to grow their brood.

The rainforest of Taman Negara 

The National Park is considered as one of the oldest land mass in Peninsular Malaysia, of more than 130 millions years old. it stretches on 3 Malaysian states (Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu) and covers 4,343 km2 . Three main river systems spring from this National Park, which is considered a hotspot for biodiversity as it hosts many species of flora and fauna, many of them endemic, rare, vulnerable or otherwise threatened in Malaysia.

The floral source of tualang honey

The National Park is considered as one of the richest area in term of plant species and genetic diversity and hosts more than 3,000 species of plants. The giant bees only visit the big ones, which are plenty considering the equatorial climate of Malaysia: hot and humid throughout the year. The average rainfall is 250 centimeters (98 in) a year and the average temperature is 27 °C (80.6 °F). 

There are 246 species in 26 families such as Selaginella wildenowii, S. mirabilis, S. scabrida, S. selangoriensis, Lycopodium carolinianum, Asplenium nidus, Tectaria faurei, Hymenophyllum serrulatum, H. exsertum. There are also ginger species such as Etligera littoralis, Zingiber spectabile and E. venusta and the latter is endemic to Peninsular Malaysia. (Probably the taste of ginger I sensed in my tualang honey comes from one of those plants)

read more about the Properties of Tualang Honey 

Physicochemical properties of Tualang Honey:
Color: dark brown
pH was 3.55
specific gravity 1.335
HMF content: higher than other local Malaysian honeys
phenolic acids and flavonoids content: high. A total of six phenolic acids (gallic, syringic, benzoic, transcinnamic, p-coumaric, and caffeic acids) and five flavonoids (catechin, kaempferol, naringenin, luteolin, and apigenin);
Hydrocarbons constitute more than half (58.5%) of its composition. (alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, furans, terpenes, flavonoids, and phenols.)
Specific compounds: stearic acids, 2-cyclopentene-1,4,-dione, 2[3H]-furanone or dihydro-butyrolactone, gamma-crotonolactone or 2[5H]-furanone, 2-hydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one, hyacinthine, 2,4-dihydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3[2H]-furan-3-one and phenylethanol (Z. Akan et al., 2011).

Why to buy Tualang Honey?

Malaysian tualang honey available on Amazon.com

Because it is really healthy. And tasty. Even if you are in a perfect state of health you can still benefit from it, because honey is preventative in the first place. There are also some specific conditions that have been researched to respond well to tualang honey.

High antimicrobial power

Here are the micro-organisms that have been found to be sensitive to Tualang honey:
· gram positive strainsStreptococcus pyogenes, Coagulase negative, Staphylococci, Methicillin-resistant-Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA), Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus, Coagulase-negative-Staphylococcus aureus(CONS);
·
gram negative strainsStenotrophomonas maltophilia, Acinetobacter baumannii, Salmonella enterica, Serovar typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Shigella flexneri, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumonia, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. (manuka honey has several more here: Burkholderia cepacia, Helicobacter pylori, Campylobacter spp., Porphyromonas gingivalis).

Antidiabetic activity

• The study Glibenclamide or metformin combined with honey improves glycemic control in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats., by Erejuwa OO et al., published in 2011, indicates that a combination of oral hypoglycaemic agents with Tualang honey improves glycaemic control in diabetic rats.

It reduces cardiovascular risk factors in healthy individuals 

• The study Natural honey and cardiovascular risk factors; effects on blood glucose, cholesterol, triacylglycerole, CRP, and body weight compared with sucrose., by Yaghoobi N et al., from 2008, showed that consumption of natural honey reduces cardiovascular risk factors, particularly in subjects with elevated risk factors, and it does not increase body weight in overweight or obese subjects.

• It also decreases systolic blood pressure and reduces levels of triglycerides and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) in diabetic spontaneously hypertensive rats (Erejuwa OO et al., 2011).

Acute Myeloid Leukemia 

• In the study Antileukemic Effect of Tualang Honey on Acute and Chronic Leukemia Cell Lines, by Nik Muhd Khuzaimi Nik Man et al. from 2015, the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of honey on K562 (chronic myeloid leukemia) and MV4-11 (acute myeloid leukemia) leukemia cell line were investigated.

It was concluded that Tualang Honey had the capacity to induce apoptosis of both myeloid leukemia cell lines with minimal effect on the normal mononuclear cells. The apoptosis activity could be attributed by few possible compounds such as flavonoids.

Tualang honey induced a greater extend of apoptosis in acute myeloid leukemia (MV4-II) compared to chronic myeloid leukemia (K562). Future study is required to understand the mechanism of apoptosis underlying both types of myeloid leukemia. But as a natural product, tualang honey was shown to have a great potential to serve as antileukemic agent.

It protects midbrain and lungs against dopaminergic neurotoxin exposure

Tualang Honey Protects the Rat Midbrain and Lung against Repeated Paraquat Exposure., by Tang SP et al., from 2017, showed that treatment with Tualang honey may protect against Paraquat induced toxicity in the rat midbrain and lung.

Cancer Preventative 

alternative treatment for breast cancer

• The study Protective Role Of Quercetin: Antioxidants May Protect Cancer Cells From Apoptosis And Enhance Cell Durability, by Dr. Zafer Akan et al., published in 2011, showed that reduction of superoxides by the free radical scavengers such as quercetin (present in tualang honey) could be beneficial for prevention of cancer but consumption of flavonoid free radical scavengers during cancer treatment may weaken effect of the chemotherapeutics and radiotherapy.

Honey with high antioxidant properties are more beneficial in preventing cancer, than in treating it!

See other Health  Benefits of Tualang Honey

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References:

Review of the Medicinal Effects of Tualang Honey and a Comparison with Manuka Honey, by Sarfarz Ahmed and Nor Hayati Othman, 2013;

rainforest journal.com

National Park (Taman Negara) of Peninsular Malaysia

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/BEES/Apis_dorsata.htm

Laura Bujor

Laura Bujor is the author and founder of HealthyWithHoney.com. She built this website as a personal journey to discover the power of honey and share it with the world. She learned directly from beekeepers and took a course in apitherapy. From a hobby, honey and apitherapy turned into a professional career. You can find her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest and X.

View all posts by Laura Bujor →

9 thoughts on “Rainforest honey aka Tualang honey – an exotic, tasty and healthy ambrosia!

  1. Just FYI, a lot of fake Tualang honey sold in M’sia.
    “Taman Negara” is in Malay language which mean National Park, mean no specific location mentioned.
    It is always the best to get the Tualang honey from the trustable local source.
    I bought some Indonesian honey which is harvested from Padang as well, but I do not test it thru any methods yet and it is still stored in my fridge.

      1. As per what you all mentioned, Malaysian honey is very watery due to the hot and humid climate in Malaysia, especially those Tualang honey from Apis Dorsata and stingless bee honey(Madu kelulut).
        Due to the natural environment and the harvest process,
        Tualang honey is not harvested only when it is fully “ripped” (You can imagine how difficult the harvest process and no one will going to wait for it to be harvested only when it fully matured).
        That’s the reason why the water content of Tualang honey can easily up to 20% ++.(unless you are very lucky to get a fully matured honey hive but it is still more watery than non hot climate countries).
        Local normally keep Tualang honey inside the fridge, it will slow down the fermentation process. Over the time(some may take up to a few months), it will still slowly crystallized.
        As of the quality and the healing properties of the Tualang honey, I will say it is very unstable as it differ from batches to batches, location to location. (Imagine you have different kind of flora or nectar source in the different part of wild rainforest and raining season affecting the quality too)
        As of kelulut honey, it’s more watery due to the size of the bees(there are a few varieties of kelulut), normally the hives are harvested thru forest(some by cutting down the trees!!), and some may get it from beekeepers’ farm but too sad that breeding new hive technologies for massive bee keeping purposes still not matured)
        I will suggest not to purchase the kelulut honey because it may damage the natural environment of the Malaysia rainforest.(Imagine the importance role of bees in the rainforest ecosystems and the number of trees being cut just to take back the hive for farming purposes.)

        1. CK, I didn’t know they cut the trees, this is horrible. Kelulut honey is available in small quantities and it is something we should preserve to help the little bees survive, not eat it at breakfast.
          As for the health benefits of tualang honey, or kelulut, you are right, they differ from batch to batch. This is the main reason why it cannot be sold as medicine.
          Thank you for making time to offer us your knowledge on these honeys.
          All the best, CK!
          Laura

  2. I purchased Wiidly tualang honey from Amazon few months ago. Honey leaked seriously when I got the stock. Also, there is no date code on the jar and the honey looked very watery. As I was afraid the honey is fermented, I finally complained to Amazon and got full refund.
    I have kept the honey jar remain unopened on my office desk. Though few months passed, I notice the honey still looks very watery and no crystallisation happened. Though I’m not a professional honey expert, I have little knowledge on honey quality.
    If honey is too watery, it means water content is high. It increases the risk of fermentation. As you mentioned above, you tested water content of your Wiidly honey is over 23.3%. Other than risk of fermentation, another indication is the honey is not mature enough when the honey is harvested.
    Wiidly claimed the honey is raw and unpasteurised. Crystallisation shall happen in 2-3 months after harvesting. But no crystallisation is happened in my jar. Frankly, I would suspect Wiidly tualang honey is not raw, but is pasteurised.
    Due to poor quality of this brand, I will NO LONGER purchase this brand again.

    1. Hi Louie,
      I’m sorry to hear you were so disappointed. Wiidly honey is quite different than regular honey. I have to say I was as surprised as you were when I first scooped it. It was so watery that I suspected it to be diluted. But then I remembered it came from the rainforest. The weather makes the nectar of flowers be more watery than in arid zones. The same happens with the other type of honey harvested in the rainforest, the kelulut honey – the one made by the tiny stingless bees. I know that this honey is always pasteurized due to its high water content, to prevent its fermentation. Wiidly has a different way of reducing water content, by keeping the honey in a modified room at room temp, placed on wide trays to let the moisture released/evaporate into the air and absorbed by a dehumidifier commercially used for “honey-drying”. But obviously, this machine cannot do the work of bees and honey is still too liquid.
      To keep things correct, I did not measure the moisture of Wiidly tualang honey myself, that figure is from a study that I cite in the article and refers to the sample they used. As a rule rainforest honey has a moisture content of 20 to up to 28%, which is indeed high.
      As for the crystallization rate, it depends on the level of glucose found in honey. Tualang honey is not a sweet one, the study I mentioned before says it has 30% glucose. Honeys with less than 28% remain generally liquid, so I think this honey may have under 28, it doesn’t taste that sweet anyway.
      Some lab tests will help us understand a lot more here. I will try to get some from Wiidly, to clarify this thing.

      The date code and batch number is stamped on the bottom of the jar. It is hard to see it indeed, but it’s there, though I could not see some figures due to some glue they used in the wrapping process.

      But I agree with you that it is a different type of honey. I knew it had high medicinal properties and I expected something like manuka or sidr honey. But nothing like them. It is unique, as they like to say. 🙂
      I wonder how is the other Malaysian amazing honey, gelam honey. Maybe one day I get some and make a comparison.

      Oh, if you buy tualang honey from the other brand that’s available on Amazon, please let us know how is that compared to Wiidly.
      And thank you for sharing your experience with us.
      Laura

    2. Hi Louie,

      I’d like to apologize for the bad experience you had with our honey.

      Kindly let me explain why the honey is “watery”. Tualang honey is native to the humid tropical rainforest, therefore it has naturally higher moisture level than other bee-farmed honey.

      You stated that you bought the honey a few months back, most probably around May-July period.

      And that period happens to be the monsoon period of that particular area of harvest in the rainforest, heavy heavy downpour.

      Therefore, the moisture level is even higher than normal. It’s noteworthy to know that research studies conducted in Malaysia reveals that the Tualang honey used in their experiments have higher moisture content than others, even level as high as 28% is not uncommon.

      When the moisture content is that high, no crystallization will occur. Crystallization usually occur around 15-18% moisture level.

      Our initial decision was not to alter the moisture content artificially, and kept the honey in the same consistency as it was in the combs. That’s to deliver an authentic fresh-out-of-hive experience for our customers.

      However, not many liked how runny it is (even though it’s naturally like that), when they’re so used to thicker honey.

      So we adopted a honey drying technique used by European bee keepers to reduce the moisture level of their honey, which is essentially laying the honey out in wide pans with a dehumidifier. This drying process takes several weeks to achieve a low moisture content of 17-19%.

      That’s why some companies chose to lay the honey out in the hot sun to dry, a significantly shorter process. However, we’re concerned about the sanitary issues of leaving honey out in the open and exposure of heat from the sun. Hence, we’ve had an enclosed clean room specially built to dry honey only, with a commercial food-grade dehumidifier.

      Right now, the moisture content of our Tualang honey ranges from 17-19%, much less “watery” than the previous batches.

      Rest assured that we’ll never dilute, pasteurize, heat, cream or adulterate this precious honey in any way, and we keep our Tualang honey in its natural state as much as possible.

      But, don’t take my word for it…

      Give us another chance to impress you. I’m sure you’ll like our Tualang honey much better now.

      Cheers!

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