Medical Grade Honey. MGH^™

MGO stands for methylglyoxal — the naturally occurring compound that gives Mānuka honey its signature, stable antibacterial activity. The MGO number on a jar (e.g. MGO 250, MGO 514, MGO 800) is the measured concentration of methylglyoxal in milligrams per kilogram of honey. The higher the MGO number, the more concentrated the antibacterial activity. Unlike the hydrogen-peroxide activity found in regular honeys, MGO is heat-stable, catalase-resistant and survives sterilisation — which is why it underpins medical-grade Mānuka.

It depends on the use. For everyday wellness, toast or tea: MGO 100–250 is plenty. For sore throats, skin and immune support: MGO 250–514. For targeted topical use, oral health or as a daily therapeutic teaspoon: MGO 514–829. For wound-care raw material and clinical formulation work: MGO 829+ and into the sterilisation-ready 1000+ grades. Higher MGO costs significantly more per kilo — buying above your use case is wasted spend.

MGO measures methylglyoxal in milligrams per kilogram — a single antibacterial analyte. UMF is a composite quality mark from the UMF Honey Association requiring minimum levels of MGO, DHA, leptosperin and HMF. Both describe Mānuka honey; MGO is typically the primary number on a medical-device specification, while UMF carries more consumer recognition on retail shelves. Rough conversion: UMF 10+ ≈ MGO 263, UMF 15+ ≈ MGO 514, UMF 20+ ≈ MGO 829, UMF 24+ ≈ MGO 1122.

Medical Grade Honey (MGH™) is honey sourced under controlled conditions, characterised for activity — typically MGO, DHA, water activity and pH — sterilised (usually by gamma irradiation around 25 kGy) and supplied under a documented quality system for use as a raw material in or alongside a registered medical device. It is a process and a documentation file, not a flower.

No. MGH is the raw material or active ingredient. The finished medical device — a wound dressing, eye gel or topical product — carries the relevant device registration in the territory of sale. BulkHoneyCo supplies the medical-grade raw material; we do not register devices.

Not meaningfully. Gamma irradiation at 25 kGy reduces peroxide activity in non-Mānuka honeys because the enzymes that generate peroxide are damaged. Mānuka's signature activity is methylglyoxal — a small, non-enzymatic molecule essentially unaffected by gamma. Industry batch-release data routinely show MGO retention ≥ 95% post-sterilisation.

No. Mānuka adds heat- and catalase-stable MGO activity, which matters for sterilised dressings, infected or biofilm-bearing wounds, and quantified antimicrobial positioning. For straightforward debridement, moist wound healing, veterinary topical use or culinary applications, a well-handled peroxide-active honey is often clinically equivalent at a fraction of the cost.

Honey is roughly 80% sugar, so it creates a strong osmotic gradient that draws fluid out of the wound. This delivers autolytic debridement, maintains a moist healing environment, and displaces odour-producing metabolites — independent of any antibacterial chemistry. In Mānuka, methylglyoxal adds a quantified antibacterial layer on top.