Also, honey was active against biofilms formed by methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with bactericidal rates ranging from 63–82%, 73–63%, and 91–91%, respectively, that was higher than the effect of commonly used single antibiotics commonly used [78]. This acidity is due to the presence of organic acids, particularly gluconic acid which is present at ∼0.5% (w/v) [38, 39]. An equivalent activity could be made by using a 15–30% honey dilution which contains similar amounts of MGO. The moisture content of honey can also vary between different honey varieties and can be affected by climate, season, and moisture content of the original plant nectar. All honey samples as well as artificial honey were tested at a number of concentrations (1%, 2.5%, 5%, and 10% (w/v)). The effects of flavonoids such as pinocembrin and rutin were shown to correlate with antibacterial activity of honey. Three types of honey (lavender, red stringy bark, and Paterson’s curse) were γ-irradiated with 15 KGY, whereas the other three (Manuka, Rewa rewa, and Medihoney) were marketed as therapeutic honeys with antibacterial activity. This suggests that honey contains other important components with antibacterial properties. It is evident that undiluted honey has the ability to stop the growth of bacteria completely because of the high content of sugar; high sugar concentration of honey exerts osmotic pressure on bacterial cells which causes transport of water out of bacterial cells through osmosis. The water activity (aw) of honey ranges from 0.562 and 0.62, which means it provides a very low water availability to support the growth of any microorganisms, lower than the range where the growth of bacteria is completely inhibited (aw 0.94–0.99). Propolis, a flavonoid-rich product of honey comb, exhibits antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties (Bosio et al., 2000) which is very powerful *Corresponding author. A. Al-Jabri, B. Nzeako, Z. Al Mahrooqi, A. Al Naqdy, and H. Nsanze, “In vitro antibacterial activity of Omani and African honey,”, A. Alnaqdy, A. Al-Jabri, Z. Scientists have found that natural materials are generally more acceptable to consumers, and if these alternative approaches are effective, this may reduce the reliance on more synthetic substances [2]. For at least 2700 years, honey has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, but only recently have the antiseptic and antimicrobial properties of honey been discovered. Al-Waili used a wide range of concentrations (10–100% (w/v)) of new honey (origin and type unspecified in the paper), stored honey, heated honey, ultraviolet-exposed honey, and heated-stored honey in acidic, neutral, and alkaline media to determinate their activities against common human pathogens in comparison with a glucose solution. This study aims to investigate antibacterial activity of five varieties of Malaysian honey (three monofloral; acacia, gelam and pineapple, and two polyfloral; kelulut and tualang) against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas … The dark, sticky nectar is known as the “healing honey” for a reason: it has antiviral and antibacterial properties that have been used to battle bugs for centuries. The ten spices with the most potent antibacterial effects were garlic, onion, allspice, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, tarragon, cumin, cloves and lemon grass. This survey will open in a new tab and you can fill it out after your visit to the site. Interestingly, honeydew honey contains a higher concentration of oligosaccharides and amino acids and also has a higher water content than blossom honey [17]. Gentamicin at the concentration of 4 µg/ml killed 70% of S. aureus after 30 min and 88% after one hour, whereas the percentage increased when a combination of honey and gentamicin was used (92% and 93% at 30 minutes and one hour, respectively) [72]. Antibacterial activity of Manuka honey has been documented for several bacterial pathogens, however there is no information on Clostridium difficile, an important nosocomial … Osmosis occurs because of the high sugar content. Moreover, another study demonstrated that a 10% concentration of Manuka honey was able to inhibit the formation of a biofilm of oral bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, suggesting that honey might be able to reduce oral pathogens within dental plaque [77]. Some of the differences in the composition of honey are due to the differences between regions (floral sources) but seasonal differences can also be important [10]. The aim of this experiment was to find a solution that may help control the resistance of bacteria to conventional antibiotics. Although the enzyme, glucose oxidase, is naturally present in honey, it is inactive in undiluted honey because of the low pH conditions [30]. Sign up here as a reviewer to help fast-track new submissions. Explanation of the antibacterial activity of honey Osmotic effect Honey is a saturated or super-saturated solution of sugars, the water content usually being only 15-21% by weight124. By using a series of different concentrations of honey within the broth or agar, it is possible to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for each type of honey studied [10]. Many of these substances have been discovered to have similar inhibitory effect and mechanisms of action to antibiotics, causing damage to bacterial cell walls as well as affecting protein synthesis in bacterial cells [5]. Bees collect many materials to produce honey, including nectar, volatiles essential oils, pollen, and propolis, and these various botanical origins will also affect the composition of honey [11]. Bacterial susceptibility to honey can be measured quantitatively by several methods, broth (micro) dilution assay, well/disk diffusion assay, agar dilution methods, and time-kill assay. This review will focus on floral honey. The antibacterial properties of honey should be examined on non- pathogenic bacteria, such as E. coli. Herbs, plants extracts, essential oils, and honey are the most common sources for these new active compounds [2], and these products have been found to be effective against a range of bacterial infections and inflammatory cases [4]. White et al., reported that gluconic acid is an effective antibacterial factor produced as a result of glucose oxidation by endogenous glucose oxidase [30]. Moreover, in some cases, these products/compounds can be used in combination with antibiotics to enhance their activity. However, the sensitivity of bacteria to hydrogen peroxide produced in honey can be influenced by the presence of phytochemical compounds in honey [44]. These substances can mainly be divided into two groups: the major compounds such as the monosaccharaides (glucose and fructose) and the minor compounds including amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and minerals, and polyphenols [9]. A linear correlation between the honey content of hydrogen peroxide and the antibacterial activity of honeys has also been reported [49]. 2.5 Preservation of honey 2.6 Properties and active ingredient of honey 2.7 Mode of action of some antibacterial substance present in honey 2.8 Clinical conditions for treatment with honey 2.9 Honey as an antimicrobial agent 2.10 Practical consideration for the clinical use of honey 2.11 Adverse reaction of honey 2.12 Research on honey. Wilkinson and Cavanagh investigated the antibacterial activity of 13 honey varieties against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. The healing properties of honey can be attributed directly to honey bees and the enzymes the bees use to ‘process’ the honey. Not all of the factors listed are present in all types of honey, and these compounds must be tested for and considered for clinical applications 3. The susceptibility of Campylobacter jejuni to the antibacterial activity of Manuka honey was also tested, and the results showed that 1% (v/v) of Manuka honey was sufficient to give the minimum inhibitory effect [69]. Many people are familiar with myrrh, but its ability to ward off harmful germs isn’t as … Several physicochemical parameters can be easily used in the routine classification of honeydew and blossom honey, including the sum of glucose and fructose (G + F) and the electrical conductivity which can be influenced by the water content [18]. Furthermore, it is possible to differentiate honey into two main types: floral honey that is made from the nectar of blossoms (blossom honey) and honeydew honey is prepared from the secretions of living parts of plants or the excretions of plant-sucking insects [8, 9]. More recently, honey has been reported to have an inhibitory effect on approximately 60 species of bacteria, including aerobes and anaerobes, gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria [ 5 ]. Different proteins have been detected in different honey varieties, predominantly related to different types of honeybees or different types of plants/flowers [27]; however, a group of major royal jelly proteins are shared by all honeybees. In one early study, Jeddar et al. High amounts of MGO are found in Manuka honey, up to around 800 mg/kg (up to 100-fold) higher compared to conventional honey [60, 62, 63]. Although a high concentration of sugar and a low water activity will stop the growth of many microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, studies have shown that often no effective bacterial inhibition occurs in the presence of “artificial” honey which can be prepared using a mixture of mono-and disaccharides at the same concentrations as those present in honey. Another analysis of different types of honey demonstrated that the average of the main components in honey are 17% water, 82.5% sugars (38.5% fructose, 31% glucose, 7% maltose, 4% trisaccharides, and 1.5% sucrose), and 0.5% protein as well as some mineral components [14]. This matter has been investigated by WHITE and myself. The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest. In a similar study using Manuka and Pasture honey from the same region in New Zealand, all 58 strains of S. aureus were inhibited by 2-3% (v/v) of Manuka honey and between 3 and 4% for Pasture honey. Yaoa et al., meanwhile, found gallic acid and coumaric acid to be the main phenolic acids in Australian tea tree, crow ash, brush box, and heath honey. These enzymes have been studied and have been shown to contain similar properties of antibiotics. Najla A. Albaridi, "Antibacterial Potency of Honey", International Journal of Microbiology, vol. In other methods, honey is incorporated into the nutrient agar or into the nutrient broth in which the bacterial culture is grown. The antibacterial action of honey against several pathogenic microbes have been extensively studied. The increase in their popularity is due to their potent activities and generally very low toxicity. Many factors have been shown to contribute to the antibacterial activity of honey, such as its high viscosity, mostly due to a high sugar concentration and low water content, which helps to provide a protective barrier to prevent infection. Bogdanov studied the antibacterial activity of eleven types of honey, including the common varieties such as acacia, blossom, chestnut, lavender, and orange against Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus and found that the inhibition of the different honey varieties ranged from 37 to 74% [33]. It has been known to be very effective in almost all cases of infection and for the promotion of healing especially in burn injury and wounds [6]. The inhibine was identified as hydrogen peroxide, a main antibacterial compound in honeys [30]. In contrast, S. aureus has been found to be completely inhibited by one honey variety at 17% when impregnated in nutrient agar [10]. It is clear that this feature is due to more than one factor. The colour of honey ranges from light yellow, through to amber and dark reddish amber to a nearly black colour [23]. This clearly demonstrates that the pronounced antibacterial activity of New Zealand Manuka honey may be linked to it being rich in MGO [63]. Blossom honey should have a G + F of 60 g/100 g or higher, whereas in honeydew honey, the G + F content is much lower at 45 g/100 g with a F/G average ratio of between 1.2 and 1.3 [19, 20]. Honey type also has an effect on its phenolic content. Moreover, Brudzynski and Miotto reported a good correlation between honey colour, total phenolic content, levels of Maillard reaction-like products (MRLPs), antioxidant activity, and the antibacterial activity of unheated honey [65]. Thats because i'm afraid the results will be too similar. Natural products can be utilised in the discovery of new antimicrobial drugs and in the treatment of infectious diseases. Undiluted honey and its 1 : 2 to 1 : 6 aqueous dilutions showed activity of 100% and 96.4%, respectively, against P. aeruginosa and E. coli. Other important components of honey are the enzymes present which contribute to its antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Another advantage is that so consumed, honey destroys a considerable percentage of pathogenic flora in the mouth, the throat, nasal passages and the larynx. Other phenolic compounds were present in similar quantities, but these were not specifically identified due to a lack of analytical standards [24]. As a result, several ancient methods have been re-evaluated and the substances/procedures employed historically to cure diseases are now attracting renewed scientific attention. Water activity is a measure of the unbound water molecules in food; the less the unbound water, the harder it is for bacteria to grow in foods. Overall, the antibacterial activity of honey has been proven although there are contrasting results between researchers as to what concentration is effective and what is not. This study aims to compare the effects of five types of honey (both imported and local Saudi honey) against Staphylococcus aureus. Honey exhibits a broad-spectrum of antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant (MRSA) ones. Manuka honey, meanwhile, has a phenolic acid content that ranges between 430–2706 mg/kg compared with Kanuka honey (424–1575 mg/kg) collected at the same time and from the same site [54]. Honey is antibacterial and can prevent growth of most types of bacteria. The colour of honey reflects various components present such as polyphenols, minerals, and pollen [21], with dark honey having a higher amount of pigments such as flavonoids [22]. Honey has been widely accepted as food and medicine by all generations, traditions, and civilizations, both ancient and modern. The antimicrobial activity of this product is highly complex. The main enzymes in honey are invertase (saccharase) and diastase (amylase) which are introduced to honey by bees. A study of the biological activity of chestnut, Herero floral, and Rhododendron honeys obtained from Anatolia in Turkey revealed activity against all the test microorganisms but the extracts gave rise to moderate inhibition against only a few microorganisms, e.g., H. pylori and S. aureus [38]. The agar diffusion assay technique, for example, is a method in which a small quantity of honey or solution of honey is applied to the centre of a well (about 6 mm in diameter) cut into nutrient agar plate previously inoculated with a microbial culture [10]. This is similar to the findings of other studies and demonstrates the consistency amongst different varieties in terms of the key components [15, 16]. The effect of a 10-fold excess catalase upon the antibacterial assay was examined but no statistical difference was evident in the outcome between the normal amount of catalase and the 10-fold excess, thus indicating that nonperoxide antibacterial activity was not due to residual hydrogen peroxide [64]. Of these, 43% of honey samples showed excellent anti S. aureus activity. To illustrate this, Lachman et al., evaluated the total polyphenol content of honey varieties harvested in the period from May to August 2006 and found the highest TP acid content occurred in the honey collected at the beginning of June (on average 170.21 mg/Kg) and July (on average 163.32 mg/Kg), whereas it was much lower in samples (83.60 mg/Kg) collected during the other months [53]. Honey inhibine number and its relationship with honey concentration. Basson and Grobler tested the antibacterial potency of different honey varieties produced from indigenous wild flowers grown in South Africa against S. aureus. Weston assumed that a high level of glucose oxidase would relate to a high level of hydrogen peroxide. Honey prevents microbial growth through the use of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), methylglyoxal (MGO), bee defensin-1, flavonoids, and a relatively low pH (~3.3) 13. They tested the growth of bacteria in media which contained different concentrations of honey, namely, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% (w/v). coli This experiment compares the effect of different types of honey on bacteria growing on agar plates. Furthermore, Weston et al., found two unidentified polar components with elution times of 44 and 47 min [58]. Another aspect of the studies was susceptibility of different bacteria to honey. Inhibine is a term that has been used to define the antibacterial agent in honey, with the “inhibine number” being used to describe the degree of dilution to which a particular type of honey keeps its antibacterial activity.