Bioactive Components and Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Different Varieties of Honey: A Screening Prior to Clinical Application

Abstract

This study assessed 16 different honey samples in order to select the best one for therapeutic purposes. First, a study of honey's main bioactive compounds was carried out. Then phenolic profiles were determined and specific compounds quantified using a HPLC system coupled to a mass spectrometer. Then, antioxidant activity, by three in vitro methods, and antibacterial activity against reference strains and clinical isolates were evaluated. Great variability among samples was observed regarding ascorbic acid (between 0.34 ± 0.00 and 75.8 ± 0.41 mg/100 g honey; p < 0.001), total phenolic compounds (between 23.1 ± 0.83 and 158 ± 5.37 mg/100 g honey; p < 0.001), and total flavonoid contents (between 1.65 ± 0.11 and 5.93 ± 0.21 mg/100 g honey; p < 0.001). Forty-nine different phenolic compounds were detected, but only 46 of them were quantified by HPLC. The concentration of phenolic compounds and the phenolic profiles varied widely among samples (between 1.06 ± 0.04 and 18.6 ± 0.73 mg/100 g honey; p < 0.001). Antioxidant activity also varied significantly among the samples. All honey varieties exhibited antibacterial activity against both reference and clinical strains (effective concentrations ranged between 0.05 and 0.40 g/mL depending on the honey sample and bacteria tested). Overall, samples with better combinations of bioactive properties were avocado and chestnut honeys.

Physicochemical analysis and phenolic profile of polyfloral and honeydew honey from Montenegro

“…Quercetin is one of the most widespread avonoids in food, and its bioavailability can highly variable, so it is important to ingesting it by the food or supplements, such as honey. 25,28 The obtained average value for quercetin are in same order of magnitude as Oroian et al 16 got. Comparing the obtained results for quercetin to polyoral honey from Serbia 10 and polyoral and honeydew honey from Romania 5 and Slovenia 29 it can be seen the superiority of the results in this study.…”

“…Based on the electrical conductivity of the 28 honey samples, eight samples belong to the group of honeydew honey, marked as No. 1,3,4,7,8,16,25,26 (Fig. 1).…”

“…As phenolic compounds show synergism, their biological activity depends on many factors, as well as the ratio of pure components in the mixture, also on other present compounds in honey such as peptides, organic acids, enzymes, Maillard's reaction products, in which combined activities and the interaction can be expose antioxidativity. 12,25…”

Antibacterial Action Mechanisms of Honey: Physiological Effects of Avocado, Chestnut, and Polyfloral Honey upon Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli

“…This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of antibacterial action of three varieties of honey (avocado, chestnut and polyfloral), evaluating the physiological status induced upon S. aureus and E. coli in a time course assay, assessed by flow cytometry (FC). In previous studies, these three honey varieties demonstrated higher antibacterial activity, as well as higher bioactive compounds concentration [17]. Effects of avocado honey (AH), chestnut honey (ChH) and polyfloral honey (PH) on S. aureus CECT 86 (a) and E. coli CECT 515 (b) cell viability assessed by colony forming units (CFU).…”

Vitamin C Enhances the Antibacterial Activity of Honey against Planktonic and Biofilm-Embedded Bacteria

“…Vit C has been found in almost all types of honey, and its concentration and antioxidant capacity depend on the processing and storage of honey as well as on its botanical origin [18]. A variety of Vit C concentrations have been found in various honey samples, where the concentration of Vit C ranged from 0.34 to 75.9 mg/100 g of honey [19]. Although Vit C is a reducing agent capable of rapidly scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), surprisingly, it acts as a pro-oxidant antibacterial molecule [20][21][22] and it may alter the antimicrobial activity of some antibiotics [23,24].…”