Dissecting the Antimicrobial Composition of Honey

Nolan, Victoria C.; Harrison, James; Cox, Jonathan

doi:10.3390/antibiotics8040251

Cited by 161 publications

(171 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…We note that despite variation among honey products, all isolates in our experiment were inhibited by honey concentrations comparable to those found in medical-grade honey products (63-100% in products recommended/licensed for medical wound care, http://www.medihoney.de/index.html). We hypothesize that the multi-faceted nature of honey's antibacterial activity (Wang et al, 2012;Nolan et al, 2019) contributes to the difficulty of bacteria evolving resistance to such high concentrations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Honey Resistance in Experimental Populations of Bacteria Depends on the Type of Honey, and Has no Major Side Effects for Antibiotic Susceptibility

Bischofberger

Pfrunder‐Cardozo

Baumgärtner

et al. 2020

Preprint

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With rising antibiotic resistance, alternative treatments for communicable diseases are increasingly relevant. One possible alternative for some types of infections is honey, used in wound care since before 2000 BCE and more recently in licensed, medical-grade products. However, it is unclear whether medical application of honey results in the evolution of bacterial honey resistance, and whether this has collateral effects on other bacterial traits such as antibiotic resistance. Here, we used single-step screening assays and serial transfer at increasing concentrations to isolate honey-resistant mutants of Escherichia coli. We only detected bacteria with consistently increased resistance to the honey they evolved in with two of the four tested honey products, and the observed increases were small (maximum two-fold increase in IC90). Genomic sequencing and experiments with single-gene knockouts showed a key mechanism by which bacteria increased their honey resistance was by mutating genes involved in detoxifying methylglyoxal, which contributes to the antibacterial activity of Leptospermum honeys. Crucially, we found no evidence that honey adaptation conferred cross-resistance or collateral sensitivity against nine antibiotics from six different classes. These results reveal constraints on bacterial adaptation to different types of honey, improving our ability to predict downstream consequences of wider honey application in medicine.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Honey Resistance in Experimental Populations of Bacteria Depends on the Type of Honey, and Has no Major Side Effects for Antibiotic Susceptibility

Bischofberger

Pfrunder‐Cardozo

Baumgärtner

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…In part, its antimicrobial activity is attributed to its physical properties, including a high osmotic pressure and low pH [72]. Additionally, honey's antimicrobial activity is due to the presence of methylglyoxal (MGO), hydrogen peroxide, flavonoids and phenols, as well as the enzyme bee defensin-1 [5]. Interestingly, as we have identified, the concentration of MGO (and subsequent Unique Manuka Factor, UMF) does not necessarily correlate with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of certain bacteria, suggesting a multimodal mechanism of action.…”

Section: Clinical Application Of Honeymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Honey exhibits a spectrum of antimicrobial activity, inhibiting a variety of microorganisms [4]. It has been well established that the main components attributed to honey's ability to inhibit microorganisms are hydrogen peroxide, polyphenolic compounds and bee defensin-1, which are all present within honey at varying levels [5]. Other factors that contribute are a high osmolarity, high sugar content and low pH [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical Significance of Manuka and Medical-Grade Honey for Antibiotic-Resistant Infections: A Systematic Review

et al. 2020

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Antimicrobial resistance is an ever-increasing global issue that has the potential to overtake cancer as the leading cause of death worldwide by 2050. With the passing of the “golden age” of antibiotic discovery, identifying alternative treatments to commonly used antimicrobials is more important than ever. Honey has been used as a topical wound treatment for millennia and more recently has been formulated into a series of medical-grade honeys for use primarily for wound and burn treatment. In this systematic review, we examined the effectiveness of differing honeys as an antimicrobial treatment against a variety of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial species. We analysed 16 original research articles that included a total of 18 different types of honey against 32 different bacterial species, including numerous MDR strains. We identified that Surgihoney was the most effective honey, displaying minimum inhibitory concentrations as low as 0.1% (w/v); however, all honeys reviewed showed a high efficacy against most bacterial species analysed. Importantly, the MDR status of each bacterial strain had no impact on the susceptibility of the organism to honey. Hence, the use of honey as an antimicrobial therapy should be considered as an alternative approach for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections.

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“…Honey's potential to assist wound healing has been demonstrated repeatedly (M. D. and has been among the best alternatives with broad-spectrum against bacterial infections. A possible reason behind its activity relies on its ability to generate hydrogen peroxide by the bee-derived enzyme glucose oxidase (Nolan, Harrison, & Cox, 2019). The antibacterial activity of honey has been known since the 19th century.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honey as a Therapeutic Agent, an Insight Into Its Antimicrobial Properties.

Asare¹

2020

Preprint

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Traditionally, honey has been used as both food and medicine since ancient times worldwide. Due to its nutritious content and sweet flavor, honey has been in great demand worldwide with China being the leading producer. People apply honey on the wound without having any knowledge of its antibacterial properties. Honey has proven to contain some antibacterial properties such as hydrogen peroxide, acidity, low moisture content, pH, etc. Bacteria are ubiquitous and their life has a close association with humans in their diet, food processing, etc. Some bacteria eg Staphylococcus aureus, consist of the normal flora of humans making them partially harmless but some can be harmful and in turn cause infections. Clinically, antibiotics such as tetracycline, penicillin, amoxicillin lincomycin, etc. have been used in the treatment of bacterial infections but some bacteria eg Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus have shown resistance to some antibiotics. Medical practitioners have opted for the use of honey in treating bacterial infections due to its antibacterial properties. Researches have proven that honey can kill or inhibit almost every bacteria and is very effective in wound treatment as compared to antibiotics. In light of this most medical practitioners prefer the use of honey in treating bacterial infections.

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Dissecting the Antimicrobial Composition of Honey

Cited by 161 publications

References 101 publications

Evolution of Honey Resistance in Experimental Populations of Bacteria Depends on the Type of Honey, and Has no Major Side Effects for Antibiotic Susceptibility

Evolution of Honey Resistance in Experimental Populations of Bacteria Depends on the Type of Honey, and Has no Major Side Effects for Antibiotic Susceptibility

Clinical Significance of Manuka and Medical-Grade Honey for Antibiotic-Resistant Infections: A Systematic Review

Honey as a Therapeutic Agent, an Insight Into Its Antimicrobial Properties.

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