Commercial honey types were screened for phenolic profile and anti-oxidant capacity. Phenolic profiling was done using high performance liquid chromatography, which was further corroborated with electro spray ionisation-mass spectroscopy. Dihydroxy benzoic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and cinnamic acid were the major phenolic constituents found in the honey samples. The anti-oxidant content and free-radical scavenging effect of honey were established using various assays. Total anti-oxidant potential and free-radical scavenging ability varied among the honey varieties and exhibited significant correlation with their phenolic content. Further, honey samples with richly abundant phenolic content were found to limit oxidant-induced cell death more effectively. Cytotoxic studies of a selected sample on a breast cancer cell displayed growth inhibition, depending on the concentration used. Cell cycle analysis indicated increasing accumulation of cells at the sub-G(1) phase. These results summarise the phenolic profile and anti-oxidant and cytotoxic potential of Indian honey samples for the first time.