Table 6.

Comparisons between the general features of natural and synthetic polymers and their main potential improvement when incorporated into honey hydrogel.

Properties	Natural	Synthetic	Hybrid	Literature
Polymers	CS, gelatin	PVA, PEG	Honey/CS/gelatin, PVA/CS, honey/CS/PVA	N/A
Cytotoxicity	Non‐cytotoxic	Non‐cytotoxic	Non‐cytotoxic	[69, 83]
Biocompatibility	Yes	Yes	Yes	[63, 69]
Natural bioactivity	Bioactive	Bioinert	Bioactive due to the presence of natural polymer(s)	[63, 69]
Mechanical strength	Poor	Good	Good	[63, 69]
Swelling behavior	Good	Poor	Good	[63, 69]
Biodegradation rate	Fast	Slow	Moderate	[63, 92]
The main potential improvement of honey hydrogel upon crosslinking with the polymers	Enhanced swelling behavior	Enhanced mechanical property	Enhanced swelling and mechanical strength, optimized biodegradation rate	[83, 88]

Abbreviations: CS, chitosan; N/A, not applicable; PEG, polyethylene glycol; PVA, poly(vinyl alcohol).