Dihydroxyacetone in the Floral Nectar of (Turcz.) Rye (Myrtaceae) and Endl. (Myrtaceae) Demonstrates That This Precursor to Bioactive Honey Is Not Restricted to the Genus (Myrtaceae).

Ma̅nuka honey is known for its strong bioactivity, which arises from the autocatalytic conversion of 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (dihydroxyacetone, DHA) in the floral nectar of (Myrtaceae) to the non-peroxide antibacterial compound methylglyoxal during honey maturation. DHA is also a minor constituent of the nectar of several other species. This study used high-performance liquid chromatography to test whether DHA was present in the floral nectar of five species in other genera of the family Myrtaceae: (Turcz.) Rye, sp. Bendering (T.J. Alford 110), (Lindl.) A.S. George, Endl., and Endl. DHA was found in the floral nectar of two of the five species: and . The average amount of DHA detected was 0.08 and 0.64 μg per flower, respectively. These findings suggest that the accumulation of DHA in floral nectar is a shared trait among several genera within the family Myrtaceae. Consequently, non-peroxide-based bioactive honey may be sourced from floral nectar outside the genus .