The antimicrobial spectrum of honey and its clinical significance

Abstract

The antimicrobial spectrum of honey was investigated by placing two drops into each of the wells made on culture media on which pure cultures of various organisms obtained from surgical specimens were grown. The organisms were grown under both aerobic and anaerobic environments. Fungal cultures of common fungi causing surgical infections or wound contaminations were mixed with 100%, 50% and 20% unprocessed honey. Growth inhibition was complete in the media containing 100%, partial in media containing 50% and no inhibition was produced by 20% honey. Unprocessed honey inhibited most of the fungi and bacteria causing wound infection and surgical infection except Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostridium oedematiens. Apart from Streptococcus pyogenes which is only moderately inhibited, golden syrup, a sugar syrup with similar physical properties as honey, did not inhibit any of the bacteria or fungi tested, demonstrating that honey is superior to any hypertonic sugar solution in antimicrobial activity. Honey is thus an ideal topical wound dressing agent in surgical infections, burns and wound infections.

Combined antibacterial activity of stingless bee (Apis mellipodae) honey and garlic (Allium sativum) extracts against standard and clinical pathogenic bacteria

“…concentration of honey ties-up water molecules, so that bacteria would have insufficient water to support their growth [4] . The antimicrobial activity of honey is also related to its geographical region and flower from which the final product is derived [5,6] .…”

“…However, the scientific work on the honey produced by Apis mellipodae (A. mellipodae, stingless bee) is limited [9,10] . In Ethiopia, honey produced by A. mellipodae, is considered to be important in traditional treatment of respiratory ailments, surface infections, diarrhea and various other diseases in line with treatments using honey [4] . Ashenafi has evaluated the antibacterial effect of A. mellipodae honey on Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) at concentration of 10%, 15%, and 20% in brain heart infusion broth [4] .…”

Manejo da gangrena de Fournier: experiência de um hospital universitário de Curitiba

“…There are also adjuvant measures such as hyperbaric chamber to prevent the extension of necrosis, reduce systemic signs of infection and enhance ischemic tissue survival 31 . In 1995, Laor and colleagues described an index of severity of Fournier's Syndrome (FSI -Founier Severity Index) for predicting the outcome of patients with this condition 32 .…”

American Society of Nephrology Quiz and Questionnaire 2013

“…The application of sugar or honey to various types of wounds has been practiced for years. The precise mechanism by which this strategy may be of benefit is not known; however, both substances exert antimicrobial effects and promote formation of granulation tissue (14)(15)(16).…”