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About Iminosugars
Chemical Class
Iminosugars are natural sugars in plants, nitrogen-containing carbohydrate analogues that mimic the structure of monosaccharides.
Soluble in water, many are found in the nectar of flowers and collected and concentrated by bees as they use nectar to make honey.
Health Benefits
In humans, Iminosugars act as potent glycosidase inhibitors and pharmacological chaperones making them valuable for treating diabetes, lysosomal storage disorders, and viral infections.
Some pharmaceuticals in use today are based on iminosugar chemistry.
Research in mammals has indicated immune-stimulation activity that is potentially beneficial in cancer and also infection.
From Plant to Honey
Iminosugars appear in certain honeys when honey bees forage from the flowers of those plants synthesizing and secreting iminosugars in their nectar.
As with all natural products, the iminosugars and honey is subject to great variation and therefore need analysis and verification to confirm their presence and concentration.
Association is Not Verification
Many natural products and supplements rely on associations between components (such as herbs) but in reality this is rarely enough. Natural variation with plants and other sources means that chemical make-up varies, sometimes significantly.
Natural products benefit from verification by analysis and measurement of known key components - though this is an expensive and challenging exercise.
Iminohoney benefits form detailed chemical analysis to verify the presence of key iminosugar components - including casuarine.
More About Iminosugar Biology
About Glycosylation
The primary mechanism of action for Iminosugars as elucidated in biological research is involvement in glycosylation. This is an introduction to glycosylation.
Iminosugars in Medicine
There has been a great deal of biological and medical research into this class of natural molecules and synthetic derivatives. This diagram provides a summary of medical applications thus far.