Objective  Specialized honeys exhibit strong antioxidant capabilities, antibacterial activities, and medicinal properties derived from plants, presenting significant potential and value for development and utilization. This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of various specialized honeys within China, with the goal of identifying samples with outstanding biological activities. Ultimately, the research endeavors to provide a scientific basis for the medical and healthcare applications of honey.

  Method  Thirty-three honey samples from different regions in China were collected for physicochemical and biological activity analyses. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using the free radical scavenging and total antioxidant capacity tests, and antibacterial capacity assessed by means of agar diffusion and microdilution in broth.

  Result  All tested honeys met the national standards on physicochemical properties. Of the 33 specimens, the leucosceptrum honey exhibited the strongest antioxidative activity, the chestnut and agastache honeys performed well, while the fennel honey showed the highest antibacterial effect on Staphylococcus aureus and the Goji honey on Escherichia coli. The antioxidative, but not the antibacterial, capacity of the honeys significantly correlated with the total phenolic content in it.

  Conclusion   Not all sweet-tasting honeys are created equal. The nutritional, antioxidant, and antibacterial functions of some samples tested in this study stood out with special marketing and product development potentials. The evaluation protocol presented in this article might be useful in further investigations that might lead to extended utilization of the common food ingredient.