Modeling the synergistic antibacterial effects of honey characteristics of different botanical origins from the Sahara Desert of Algeria

Abstract

Background: Honey has multiple therapeutic properties due to its composition with diverse components.Objectives: This study aims to investigate the antimicrobial efficacy of Saharan honeys against bacterial pathogens, the variation of honey floral origins, and its physicochemical characteristics.Materials and Methods: The antimicrobial activity of 32 samples of honey collected from the Algerian Sahara Desert was tested on four bacteria; Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. The botanical origin of honeys and their physicochemical properties were determined and their combined antibacterial effects were modeled using a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM).Results: Out of the 32 study samples, 14 were monofloral and 18 were multifloral. The pollen density was on average 7.86 × 106 grains/10 g of honey, water content was 14.6%, electrical conductivity (EC) was 0.5 μS/cm, pH was 4.38 ± 0 50, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content was 82 mg/kg of honey, total sugars = 83%, reducing sugars = 71%, and the concentration of proline = 525.5 ± 550.2 mg/kg of honey. GLMM revealed that the antibacterial effect of honey varied significantly between bacteria and floral origins. This effect increased with increasing of water content and reducing sugars in honey, but it significantly decreased with increase of honey EC. E. coli was the most sensitive species with an inhibition zone of 10.1 ± 4.7 mm, while C. perfringens was the less sensitive. Honeys dominated by pollen of Fabaceae sp. were most effective with an overall antimicrobial activity equals to 13.5 ± 4.7 mm.Conclusion: Saharan honeys, of certain botanical origins, have physicochemical and pollinic characteristics with relevant potential for antibacterial purposes. This encourages a more comprehensive characterization of honeys with in vivo and in vitro investigations.

Dissecting the Antimicrobial Composition of Honey

“…Those formed by hexoses include 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG) and glucoson; formation by disaccharides and oligosaccharides results in 3-deoxypentosone (3-DP) [68]. Breakdown products of 3-DG result in the generation of 5-hydroxymethalfurfural, indicating honey freshness [9]. Other breakdown products of antimicrobial significance are methylglyoxal and glyoxal.…”

“…The ancient Egyptians used honey as a topical ointment, a wound dressing and for embalming their dead, whereas the ancient Greeks used it as a remedy for gout, pain, fever and also wound healing [7]. The first observations of the antimicrobial activity of honey were made in 1892, and since then honey has been observed to have a broad spectrum of activity, inhibiting both Gram positive and Gram negative organisms, including: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneuomniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Listeria monocytogens and their multidrug-resistant counterparts (Table 1) [8,9]. The efficacy of honey against these organisms is dependent on the honey used, due to variations in botanical origin, bee health, geographical location and the processing of honey [1,10,11].…”

Bee Products and Essential Oils as Alternative Agents for Treatment of Infections Caused by S. aureus

“…The research conirmed high antimicrobial activity of honeys collected from this region; however, only disc difusion method was used by the authors. All loral origins of honey showed antimicrobial activity against S. aureus but with rather similar reactions (9-10.5 mm), except with P. persica-based honey, whose activity was only 6 mm [34]. High anti-staphylococcal potential of honeys was also conirmed for clinical isolates of these bacteria, including MRSA strains.…”

Quali-quantitative characterization of the honey from Myracrodruon urundeuva allemo (Anacardiceae - Aroeira): macroscopic, microscopic, physico-chemical and microbiological parameters

“…The growing demand for honey in many countries in the world requires its diversification of other types of honey as a response to the consumer request (Simova et al, 2012). Therefore, the determination of botanical essences of apicultural interest as an influencer of honey characteristics becomes essential, since the specific composition may depend on the diversity of flower sources (Anjos et al, 2015;Laallam et al, 2015).…”