Abstract:BackgroundManuka honey originates from the manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium) and its antimicrobial effect has been attributed to a property referred to as Unique Manuka Factor that is absent in other types of honey. Antibacterial activity of Manuka honey has been documented for several bacterial pathogens, however there is no information on Clostridium difficile, an important nosocomial pathogen. In this study we investigated susceptibility of C. difficile to Manuka honey and whether the activity is bacteri… Show more
“…In their study, 50% manuka honey solution showed zones of inhibition ranging from 14·2 to 14·5 mm after 2 days of incubation for the three strains of C. difficile which included a reference strain (ATCC 9689) and two clinical isolates of PCR ribotypes 027 and 106. In addition, MIC and MBC values of 6·25% v/v were observed for manuka honey against the three C. difficile isolates, suggesting bactericidal activity (Hammond and Donkor ). In our study, MICs for the WA‐produced manuka honey were more than fourfold higher against the four C. difficile isolates than those obtained in Hammond and Donkor () study and no bactericidal activity was observed at the highest concentration of honey solutions used.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 91%
“…In addition, MIC and MBC values of 6·25% v/v were observed for manuka honey against the three C. difficile isolates, suggesting bactericidal activity (Hammond and Donkor ). In our study, MICs for the WA‐produced manuka honey were more than fourfold higher against the four C. difficile isolates than those obtained in Hammond and Donkor () study and no bactericidal activity was observed at the highest concentration of honey solutions used. This could be because different strains of C. difficile were used in each study, however, is also likely due to differences between the two honey samples tested, as the activity of honey can vary significantly due to the spatial and temporal variation in sources of nectar (Kwakman et al .…”
“…In their study, 50% manuka honey solution showed zones of inhibition ranging from 14·2 to 14·5 mm after 2 days of incubation for the three strains of C. difficile which included a reference strain (ATCC 9689) and two clinical isolates of PCR ribotypes 027 and 106. In addition, MIC and MBC values of 6·25% v/v were observed for manuka honey against the three C. difficile isolates, suggesting bactericidal activity (Hammond and Donkor ). In our study, MICs for the WA‐produced manuka honey were more than fourfold higher against the four C. difficile isolates than those obtained in Hammond and Donkor () study and no bactericidal activity was observed at the highest concentration of honey solutions used.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 91%
“…In addition, MIC and MBC values of 6·25% v/v were observed for manuka honey against the three C. difficile isolates, suggesting bactericidal activity (Hammond and Donkor ). In our study, MICs for the WA‐produced manuka honey were more than fourfold higher against the four C. difficile isolates than those obtained in Hammond and Donkor () study and no bactericidal activity was observed at the highest concentration of honey solutions used. This could be because different strains of C. difficile were used in each study, however, is also likely due to differences between the two honey samples tested, as the activity of honey can vary significantly due to the spatial and temporal variation in sources of nectar (Kwakman et al .…”
“…Finally, for the sake of completeness, we examined other commonly measured caecal microbial groups such as Lactobacillus , known to respond to manuka honey (Rosendale et al, 2008); E. coli , known to be inhibited by manuka honey (Lu et al, 2013; Rosendale et al, 2008), and the Clostridium perfringens group (Paturi et al, 2010), representing commensal Gram positive gut microbiota known to be inhibited by manuka honey (Hammond & Donkor, 2013), using RT-qPCR (Paturi et al, 2010) but no significant changes in numbers were evident (Table 1). …”
The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that consuming manuka honey, which contains antimicrobial methylglyoxal, may affect the gut microbiota. We undertook a mouse feeding study to investigate whether dietary manuka honey supplementation altered microbial numbers and their production of organic acid products from carbohydrate fermentation, which are markers of gut microbiota function. The caecum of C57BL/6 mice fed a diet supplemented with antimicrobial UMF R 20+ manuka honey at 2.2 g/kg animal did not show any significantly changed concentrations of microbial short chain fatty acids as measured by gas chromatography, except for increased formate and lowered succinate organic acid concentrations, compared to mice fed a control diet. There was no change in succinate-producing Bacteroidetes numbers, or honey-utilising Bifidobacteria, nor any other microbes measured by real time quantitative PCR. These results suggest that, despite the antimicrobial activity of the original honey, consumption of manuka honey only mildly affects substrate metabolism by the gut microbiota.
“…However, concentrations between 20 and 50% (w/v) Manuka honey resulted in decreasing amount of biofilm formed by all test strains after 24 hours. Although MIC and MBC of Manuka honey against suspensions of the C. difficile strains used in this study were 6.25% (v/v)
[21], much higher concentrations of 30-50% (w/v) of Manuka honey were required to deplete biofilms formed by the C. difficile strains.Figure 2
The effect of varying concentrations of Manuka honey on biofilm of
C. difficile
strains. …”
BackgroundBiofilm bacteria are relatively more resistant to antibiotics. The escalating trend of antibiotic resistance higlights the need for evaluating alternative potential therapeutic agents with antibacterial properties. The use of honey for treating microbial infections dates back to ancient times, though antimicrobial properties of Manuka honey was discovered recently. The aim of this study was to demonstrate biofilm formation of specific Clostridium difficile strains and evaluate susceptibility of the biofilm to Manuka honey.MethodsThree C. difficile strains were used in the study including the ATCC 9689 strain, a ribotype 027 strain and a ribotype 106 strain. Each test strain was grown in sterile microtitre plates and incubated at 37°C for 24 and 48 hours in an anaerobic cabinet to allow formation of adherent growth (biofilm) on the walls of the wells. The effect of Manuka honey on the biofilms formed was investigated at varying concentrations of 1-50% (w/v) of Manuka honey.ResultsThe three C. difficile strains tested formed biofilms after 24 hours with the ribotype 027 strain producing the most extensive growth. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) found between the amount of biofilms formed after 24 and 48 hours of incubation for each of the three C. difficile strains. A dose–response relationship between concentration of Manuka honey and biofilm formation was observed for all the test strains, and the optimum Manuka honey activity occurred at 40-50% (v/v).ConclusionManuka honey has antibacterial properties capable of inhibiting in vitro biofilm formed by C. difficile.
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