Tualang honey is a dark, wild honey from Southeast Asia that has attracted scientific attention because of its unusually high concentration of antioxidant polyphenols. Researchers have investigated it for several potential health effects, including effects on the brain, learning, and memory. (MDPI)

The research is intriguing, but Tualang honey is expensive. That raises an important nutritional question: Can we obtain many of the same potentially beneficial compounds from ordinary foods for a fraction of the cost?

What has the research found?

One of the most interesting human studies involved 102 healthy postmenopausal women. Participants received either Tualang honey, hormone therapy, or no treatment. The honey group consumed 20 grams—approximately one tablespoon—every day for 16 weeks.

The women receiving Tualang honey showed improvement in verbal learning and immediate memory compared with the untreated group. The study did not establish that honey prevents Alzheimer's disease or reverses dementia, but it provided legitimate human evidence that Tualang honey may have an effect on certain aspects of cognitive function. (PubMed)

Another human study using 20 grams daily for eight weeks in patients with schizophrenia found improvement in total learning performance in the immediate-memory domain, although long-term memory did not significantly improve. (PubMed Central (PMC))

What are the active ingredients?

There doesn't appear to be one "active ingredient" in Tualang honey. Instead, scientists believe its biological activity may come from a combination of phenolic acids and flavonoids.

Compounds identified in Tualang honey include gallic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, catechin, quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, apigenin and naringenin. (MDPI)

These compounds are of interest because many have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are among the processes being investigated in brain aging and neurodegeneration.

Laboratory analysis has found Tualang honey to have relatively high total phenolic content and strong free-radical-scavenging activity compared with several other honeys. (PubMed)

Researchers have proposed several possible neurological mechanisms, including reducing oxidative stress and neuroinflammation and protecting neurons. However, much of the mechanistic evidence comes from laboratory and animal experiments, so these mechanisms should not be presented as established treatments for human memory loss. (PubMed Central (PMC))

The problem: Tualang honey is expensive

Authentic imported Tualang honey can cost many times more than ordinary honey. At the 20-gram daily quantity used in the human study, a 200-gram container lasts only about 10 days.

Therefore, taking expensive imported Tualang honey every day simply to obtain polyphenols may not be the most economical nutritional strategy.

There is another consideration: honey is predominantly sugar. Tualang honey contains substantial amounts of glucose and fructose. (MDPI)

Fortunately, the potentially beneficial phytochemicals in Tualang honey aren't exclusive to honey.

Getting similar compounds from ordinary foods

Many inexpensive foods provide the same classes of flavonoids and phenolic compounds, sometimes in considerably greater concentrations.

Capers are an exceptionally rich dietary source of quercetin. Red and yellow onions are another inexpensive source. Apples, kale and berries also contribute quercetin and other flavonoids.

Berries—particularly blueberries, blackberries and strawberries— provide a broad spectrum of polyphenols, including anthocyanins that are independently being investigated for brain and cardiovascular health.

Green tea supplies catechins. Cocoa provides several flavonoids. Coffee is an important dietary source of phenolic compounds such as chlorogenic acids. Herbs, vegetables, fruits and nuts provide still more varieties of polyphenols.

This is significant because phenolic compounds such as caffeic acid, gallic acid, ferulic acid and quercetin aren't unique to Tualang honey; they're found across numerous plant foods and even in other types of honey. (PubMed Central (PMC))

A less expensive "brain-food" approach

Rather than spending several dollars every day on imported honey, a practical diet could regularly incorporate onions or capers, berries, green tea, colorful vegetables, nuts and a small amount of unsweetened cocoa.

This approach has another advantage: instead of attempting to isolate one supposed "memory ingredient," it supplies a wide spectrum of phytochemicals, along with fiber, vitamins and minerals, while avoiding the large sugar load that comes with consuming honey specifically for its polyphenols.

The important qualification

We cannot say that these foods are a scientifically proven substitute for Tualang honey. The clinical experiment used Tualang honey itself, not capers, onions or an isolated mixture of its polyphenols. Researchers haven't yet determined which constituent—or combination of constituents—was responsible for the observed memory effect.

Therefore, the evidence supports saying:

Tualang honey has shown preliminary cognitive benefits in human research, and it contains numerous antioxidant polyphenols that may contribute to those effects. Many of those same compounds can be obtained much more economically from common plant foods.

It does not yet support saying that Tualang honey treats Alzheimer's disease, reverses dementia, or that eating another quercetin-rich food will reproduce the results of the Tualang clinical trial.

Bottom line

Tualang honey is scientifically interesting, particularly because a human trial found improved immediate memory after 20 grams daily for 16 weeks. But it is an expensive way to obtain phytochemicals that occur throughout the food supply. (PubMed)

For everyday brain nutrition, a varied, polyphenol-rich diet containing berries, onions or capers, green tea, vegetables, nuts and cocoa is likely a much more economical strategy than purchasing expensive imported honey solely for its antioxidant compounds.

Tualang honey may have something special about its particular combination of compounds—but until research identifies what that is, good nutrition provides a much less expensive way of obtaining many of the same potentially beneficial nutrients.