Get 3 Free gifts + Free Shipping Today
When you open a jar of MGO 850+ Mānuka honey. Here's what's actually inside.
Most people think they're buying honey. With raw, high-grade Mānuka, you're buying a profile of naturally occurring compounds you won't find anywhere else.
Monday, May 18
by Krista Budgen
16,396 Verified 5-star reviews
There are at least 4 compounds inside MGO 850+ Mānuka honey that don't exist in regular honey.
*Compound profile reflects raw Mānuka honey from native NZ Mānuka flowers. Conventional table honey from non-Mānuka sources does not naturally contain MGO or leptosperin.
Regular supermarket honey is mostly sugar and water. Once it's been heat-processed, pasteurized, or ultra-filtered, almost everything that makes honey interesting is gone — the enzymes, the antioxidants, the trace compounds. What's left is sweetener with calories.
Raw, high-grade Mānuka is the opposite. Because it's never heated or processed, every compound the bees built into the honey is still there when you open the jar. And when you're working with MGO 850+, that profile is rich.
MGO 850+ Mānuka honey contains methylglyoxal, leptosperin, naturally occurring prebiotic oligosaccharides, and a deep antioxidant profile of polyphenols and flavonoids.
Let's go one by one. Methylglyoxal (MGO) is the headline compound — the naturally occurring bioactive that gives Mānuka its character. The number on the jar (850+ in our hero grade) tells you the minimum concentration. The higher the number, the more MGO inside.
Leptosperin is the second key marker. It's a naturally occurring antioxidant found in Mānuka honey, and independent labs use it to confirm a honey is actually Mānuka. Synthetic or counterfeit "Mānuka" honey can't replicate leptosperin — which is why it's one of the most reliable authenticity checks in the industry.
For a limited time
Save 31% + $25 in free gifts on the MGO 850+ Starter Kit (the #1 high-grade Mānuka honey in the US).
5 honey sticks, wooden dose spoon, Mānuka guidebook, and a personal onboarding call with a Mānuka specialist — included free with your first order.
Try Manukora Honey
The compounds that quietly do the work.
Prebiotic oligosaccharides are a class of naturally occurring carbohydrates that act as food for the beneficial bacteria already living in your gut. Studies indicate that prebiotics help support a balanced gut microbiome and normal digestive function. Mānuka honey naturally contains them. Refined sugar does not.
In multiple scientific studies comparing Mānuka to other types of honey, scientists have found that Mānuka has the highest flavonoid content, the highest total phenolic content, and the highest total antioxidant activity.
Antioxidants are the compounds that help maintain the body's natural defenses. The total antioxidant capacity of Mānuka has been studied extensively. The polyphenols and flavonoids that give MGO 850+ its dark, rich color are the same compounds that put it in a category of its own nutritionally.
Prebiotics
Naturally occurring prebiotic oligosaccharides that help support a balanced gut microbiome.
Antioxidants
Polyphenols, flavonoids, and leptosperin — the body's natural defenders, all in one spoonful.
MGO
The signature bioactive of Mānuka — and the reason the number on the jar matters.
Pure, single-ingredient, raw — exactly the way it left the hive.
That entire compound profile only survives if the honey is treated with care. Manukora is never heat-treated or pasteurized. It's raw, single-source, and creamed slowly using our signature technique to preserve the naturally occurring compounds that supermarket processing would otherwise destroy.
Every jar is glyphosate residue-free, Non-GMO, and B-Corp Certified. And every jar comes with a QR code that lets you trace it back to the beekeeper, the location, and the third-party test results that verify what's actually inside.
For a limited time, you can save 31% + $25 in free gifts on the best high-grade Mānuka honey in the US.
Try Manukora Honey
Secure Transaction
