Honey is a natural substance appreciated for its therapeutic abilities since ancient times. Its content in flavonoids and phenolic acids plays a key role on human health, thanks to the high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that they exert. Honey possesses antimicrobial capacity and anticancer activity against different types of tumors, acting on different molecular pathways that are involved on cellular proliferation. In addition, an antidiabetic activity has also been highlighted, with the reduction of glucose, fructosamine, and glycosylated hemoglobin serum concentration. Honey exerts also a protective effect in the cardiovascular system, where it mainly prevents the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins, in the nervous system, in the respiratory system against asthma and bacterial infections, and in the gastrointestinal system. A beneficial effect of honey can also be demonstrated in athletes. The purpose of this review is to summarize and update the current information regarding the role of honey in health and diseases.

Honey has been used as a food and medical product since the earliest times. It has been used in many cultures for its medicinal properties, as a remedy for burns, cataracts, ulcers and wound healing, because it exerts a soothing effect when initially applied to open wounds. Depending on its origin, honey can be classified in different categories among which, monofloral honey seems to be the most promising and interesting as a natural remedy. Manuka honey, a monofloral honey derived from the manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium), has greatly attracted the attention of researchers for its biological properties, especially its antimicrobial and antioxidant capacities. Our manuscript reviews the chemical composition and the variety of beneficial nutritional and health effects of manuka honey. Firstly, the chemical composition of manuka honey is described, with special attention given to its polyphenolic composition and other bioactive compounds, such as glyoxal and methylglyoxal. Then, the effect of manuka honey in wound treatment is described, as well as its antioxidant activity and other important biological effects.

Since a high intake of fruits and vegetables is inversely related to the incidence of several degenerative diseases, the importance of a balanced diet in relation to human health has received increased consumer attention worldwide. Strawberries (Fragaria X ananassa, Duch.) are a rich source of a wide variety of nutritive compounds such as sugars, vitamins, and minerals, as well as non-nutritive, bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, anthocyanins and phenolic acids. All of these compounds exert a synergistic and cumulative effect on human health promotion and in disease prevention. Strawberry phenolics are indeed able (i) to detoxify free radicals blocking their production, (ii) to modulate the expression of genes involved in metabolism, cell survival and proliferation and antioxidant defense, and (iii) to protect and repair DNA damage. The overall objective of the present review is to update and discuss the key findings, from recent in vivo studies, on the effects of strawberries on human health. Particular attention will be paid to the molecular mechanisms proposed to explain the health effects of polyphenols against the most common diseases related to oxidative stress driven pathologies, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammation.