Medicated Honey Production via Bee Feed and Thermal Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercially processed honey often loses heat-sensitive nutrients during processing, making it less nutritive, and there is a need for honey with enhanced antioxidant and anti-cancer properties to address growing health concerns.
Innovation Solution
Producing medicated honey by feeding honeybees with bee-feed obtained from medicinal plants, which includes nectar and extracts of plants like Plumeria rubra and Ocimum sanctum, and processing the honey under controlled conditions to retain its therapeutic properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If honey is processed by heating and straining to remove contamination and debris, then clarity and purity are improved, but heat-sensitive nutrients disintegrate and are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by carefully controlling the heating temperature (maintaining it below the degradation point of heat-sensitive nutrients) and adjusting processing time to achieve clarity while preserving nutrients. This resolves the contradiction by optimizing the thermal processing parameters to balance purification with nutrient retention.
2Reliability
If honey is processed to ensure it is devoid of local contamination and debris, then safety and purity are improved, but nutrients disintegrate during processing making the product less nutritive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by changing processing parameters - specifically controlling heating temperature and time - to achieve purification while minimizing nutrient loss, thereby maintaining both safety and nutritive value.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by selecting medicinal plants with desired therapeutic properties before honey production, and by preparing the honey processing conditions in advance to ensure nutrients are preserved during the purification process.
3Reliability
If honeybees are fed selected medicinal plants to obtain honey with specific therapeutic properties, then therapeutic attributes are improved, but the complexity of production process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-selecting and preparing medicinal plants with specific therapeutic properties before honey production. The bees are fed these selected plants to ensure the resulting honey possesses desired therapeutic attributes, thus resolving the contradiction by establishing quality controls in advance.
4Duration of action of stationary object
If commercially available honey is processed and cleared, then appearance and shelf-life are improved, but many nutrients that are heat sensitive disintegrate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by changing processing parameters - specifically controlling heating temperature and time - to achieve clarity and extended shelf-life while minimizing the disintegration of heat-sensitive nutrients, thus preserving both storage stability and nutritive value.
Data Source
AI summary
Medicated honey and method of preparing the same are disclosed herein. The disclosed honey is obtained by feeding honeybees with bee-feed obtained from medicinal plants. The medicated honey disclosed herein is such that it has anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties. The embodiments disclosed herein may be instrumental in strengthening the immune system, as an anti-cancer agent and as an anti-oxidant.