Natural deep eutectic characteristics of honey improve the bioactivity and safety of traditional medicines

Honey, an important additive with natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) characteristics, has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years.We investigated the quality-improving effects of honey on Astragali Radix (Mikvetch Root) (RA) as an example.Decoctions of raw RA, fried RA, honey-fried RA, and a man-made- honey-fried RA were prepared and compared in cell-based bioactivity tests, chemical composition tests, as well as a bioavailability test with calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside.The addition of honey increased the concentrations of active compounds and their oral bioavailability, provided protection against acetylation, and consequently increased their bioactivity. These changes were also observed when a pure NADES-mimicking honey was used.Our findings provide a potential explanation as to why honey has long been used as traditional medicine additives and rationalize the application of honey and honey-like substance in producing pharmaceuticals.