At a health fair for bloggers which I attended a few weeks back, I received a small jar of Tualang honey as sample in my goodie bag. The taste of the Tualang honey reminds me of the Chinese maltose candy (wrapped in transparent plastic wrapper) which I used to eat when I was a little kid back in the late 1970s through 1980s.  I let my youngest finicky 9-year old try the Tualang honey and to my surprise, she liked it.  My 9-year old would fuss over Manuka honey and most brands of honey, thus I was surprised that she is not averse to Tualang honey.

I turned to Google to find out more about the goodness of Tualang honey and am glad to learn that Tualang honey has amazing medicinal benefits that even surpasses Manuka honey in some ways.

Tualang honey is a Malaysian multifloral jungle honey. In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of studies published in medical databases regarding its potential health benefits. The honey is produced by the rock bee (Apis dorsata), which builds hives on branches of tall Tualang trees located mainly in the north-western region of Peninsular Malaysia.

Reference from US National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health on Tualang honey vs Manuka honey:

The health benefits of Tualang honey are better compared to other Malaysian honeys. TH is more effective than Manuka honey against some gram-negative bacterial strains in burn wounds management, probably due to its higher content of phenolics, flavanoids, and HMF.

Tualang honey shows bactericidal and bacteriostatic activity against a number of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. It is rich in antioxidants and has great potential as an anticancer agent.

Tualang honey improves hypertension, lipid profiles and diabetes in rats. It shares some similar properties and biochemical characteristics with the much-researched Manuka honey (New Zealand and/or Australian monofloral honey). Distinct differences include higher phenolics, flavonoids, and HMF. Tualang honey is more effective than Manuka honey against some gram-negative bacterial strains in burn wounds. Although the health benefits of Manuka honey are internationally recognised, those of TH are only recently attracting attention. More laboratory research and clinical trials are needed to develop a better understanding of its potential health benefits and to abate scepticism.

Reference from Fox News:

The most common way that Malaysian people use this unique honey is as a daily health tonic. One full teaspoon of Tualang honey in a couple of ounces of water makes an ambrosial elixir that delivers the honey’s benefits along with an exotic taste experience. As a topical aid, Tualang honey is used by native people to heal wounds, and to kill bacteria in skin infections. Like the New Zealand Manuka honey, Tualang honey is excellent for relieving a sore throat and for subduing symptoms of colds. A modest amount consumed daily appears to help stabilize blood sugar, and the honey demonstrates blood-pressure reducing effects.

In conclusion, what I’ve gathered from the search results on the health benefits of Tualang honey is amazingly promising.  Lab studies have found that Tualang honey is effective in preventing breast cancer, confers cardioprotective effects, lowers cholesterol level, controls blood sugar, has high antibacterial potency, has positive effects on menopausal women, thus could be an alternative to HRT and many more health benefits.