The objective of this study is to determine the antimutagenic effect of honey and its correlation with the concentration of the total polyphenolic content. Seven honey samples were collected from different regions of Algeria. The total polyphenolic content was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric assay. The antimutagenic effect was carried out by the AMES Salmonella/ microsome mutagenicity assay against three known mutagenic substances (4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine, sodium azide, and mitomycin C), using Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, and TA102 strains. The results obtained revealed that Algerian honey contains high polyphenol content, which varied significantly between 38.04 and 286.28 µg of GAE/100 mg of honey. This variation is due to their different botanical and regional origins. In addition, all tested honey exhibited an antimutagenic effect against mutagenic substances; honey is effective to inhibit between 29.18±11.11 % and 73.14±11.14 % of mutagenic activity of chemical substances. There is a strong positive correlation between the total polyphenolic content and the antimutagenic proprieties of honey against the mutagenic substances. The results obtained suggest that honey is effective as an antimutagenic agent; it can play an important role in the protection of the mutagenic effect of DNA caused by chemical substances.

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Objective. Honey is an extremely promising agent in the treatment of infected wounds of burned patients. This study aims to evaluate the antibacterial activity of 14 Algerian honey samples in comparison to Manuka honey towards pathogenic bacteria isolated from burn wound infections. Methods. The antibacterial effect of 14 Algerian honey samples and the Manuka honey was assessed against six multidrug-resistant bacteria: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, and Enterococcus faecalis. Well agar diffusion, microdilution broth assay, and time-kill assay were used to evaluate the effects of honey samples on the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Results. The results obtained show that all tested honey samples have good antibacterial effects and there is no significant difference between Algerian honey samples and Manuka honey, except honey samples H12 and H13. The Gram-positive bacteria were more susceptible to honey samples than Gram-negative bacteria. The inhibitory diameters were between 14 to 38 mm for Gram-positive bacteria and from 8 to 28 mm for Gram-negative bacteria. The minimal inhibitory concentration of Algerian honey was between 5 and 80% (v/v) and minimal bactericidal concentration was between 10 and 80 % (v/v). However, the minimal inhibitory concentration of Manuka honey was between 5 and 40% (v/v) and minimal bactericidal concentration was between 10 and 80% (v/v). The MBC/MIC ratio was from 1 to 2, which proves that both Algeria honeys and Manuka honey have a bactericidal effect rather than a bacteriostatic effect. A time-kill assay showed that the inhibition effect of honey samples started after the first 3 hours of incubation. Honey samples 3 and 7 inhibited the growth of S. aureus and S. saprophyticus in 15 hours; however, they inhibited the growth of the other pathogenic bacteria in 18 hours. Conclusions. This study proposes honey as an extremely promising treatment against multidrug-resistant bacteria from burn infections.