In Vitro Screening Potential Antibacterial Properties of the Greek Oregano Honey against Clinical Isolates of Helicobacter pylori

Abstract

Oregano honey is an exceedingly rare and distinct product, not commercially available, produced by bees bred in oregano fields of alpine altitudes at the mountainous area of Epirus, Greece. In ethnic popular medicine, this product is used as a therapeutic in various gastric diseases. To test this hypothesis, 14 strains of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), 6 isolated from gastric ulcers and 8 from cases of clinical gastritis, were employed in the present study. The above bacterial strains were exposed to various concentrations (75% v/v, 50% v/v, 25% v/v, 12.5% v/v, and 6% v/v) of 50 oregano honey samples by using the agar well method and the inhibition zones observed around each well were recorded. Although the inhibitory zones of the H. pylori isolated from the gastric ulcers were wide enough (0–34 mm), those strains, in general, appeared more resistant than the other eight (0–58 mm). The same result was observed when the same strains were tested against six antibiotics used in clinical practice. Extracts of oregano honey were prepared by extraction with four different organic solvents. N-hexane and chloroform extracts had the most potent antibacterial action. Finally, pure oregano honey and diethyl ether extracts of honey showed significant inhibitory activity against urease secreted by the pathogen. These results strongly indicate the susceptibility of H. pylori strains to the oregano honey by more than one mode of action. Consequently, this variety of honey seems to have potential therapeutic properties against gastric ulcers and gastritis, thus explaining the preference of the locals towards this traditional remedy.

Сultivation experiment of Origanum vulgare L. in Northern Kazakhstan using nitrogen fertilizer

“…In addition to these obvious benefits of medicinal herbs, there are also studies of honey from oregano, which is obtained in the mountainous area of Epirus, Greece. It has been determined that honey contains therapeutic properties against gastric diseases and Helicobacter pylori strains, unfortunately, it is considered to be a rare product (Voidarou et al, 2021). In addition to the use of the medicinal green mass of oregano, it was proposed to use the plant material with poor qualities and unsuitable parts of the plant.…”

The antimicrobial mechanism of Greek thyme honeys against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates: a case study of comparison with Manuka honey

“…Chestnut, and heather (Peloponnese), pine (Thasos Island) and other polyfloral honeys (northern Greece) were significantly effective against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013). The presence of oregano essential oils such as rosmarinic acid, thymol and carvacrol and other flavonoids, triterpenoids, sterols, vitamin C and vitamin A, in oregano honey (pH 3.9, Northern Greece, Epirus) made these honeys significantly antimicrobial towards fourteen H. pylori strains (Voidarou et al ., 2021b). Likewise, strawberry honey (Arbutus unedo honey) demonstrated high antibacterial and antifungal activity due to non‐isoprenoid compounds as isophorone and abscisic acid and the phenolic secondary metabolite homogenistic acid (HGA) (Graikou et al., 2022).…”