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Antibacterial Activity of Greek and Cypriot Honeys Against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Comparison to Manuka Honey
Abstract
Abstract The antibacterial activity of 31 Greek and Cypriot honeys against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was initially screened using an agar-well diffusion assay in comparison with manuka honey. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined in broth using a spectrophotometric-based assay. The MIC of treated honeys with catalase or proteinase K was determined and compared with those of untreated honeys. All tested honeys demonstrated antibacterial activity against S. aureus on agar-well diffusion assay. MICs of tested honeys were determined as 3.125-25% (v/v), compared with manuka honey at 6.25% (v/v). Similarly, 21 of 31 tested honeys demonstrated antibacterial activity on agar-well diffusion assay against P. aeruginosa. Their MICs ranged from 6.25% to 25% (v/v) compared with 12.5% (v/v) for manuka honey. Antibacterial activity of tested honeys could be largely attributed to hydrogen peroxide formation and in some cases to unidentified proteinaceous compounds. In conclusion, Greek and Cypriot honeys demonstrated significant but variable antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa and especially S. aureus. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study that has thoroughly examined the antibacterial activity of Greek and Cypriot honeys compared with manuka honey. The high antibacterial activity exerted by some tested honeys warrants further investigation.
... Honey properties and taste are known to vary depending on the flora foraged by bees (such as pine, sage, thyme), the geographical foraging area and the local climatic environment (including temperature, soil, rainfall), as well as processing and storage-time conditions [1]. Of note, studies have revealed that the strong antimicrobial actions of some of the tested honeys may be superior to that of manuka [11][12][13], known for its rich MGO content [3]. The craft of beekeeping is very old and still quite popular in Greece, which has the largest per capita consumption of honey in Europe [14]. ...
... On the other hand, Greece has a long history in the craft of beekeeping, and today has the greatest density of bee colonies in Europe [14]. While some studies have been published in the last decade on the antibacterial actions of Greek honeys [11,12,24,25], to the best of our knowledge the current study is the first one reporting the actions of honeys produced in Lemnos. Despite its natural beauty, Lemnos has not yet been overly exposed to high levels of tourism, thus offering an ideal environment for the welfare of bees and the smooth development of beekeeping. ...
... Despite its natural beauty, Lemnos has not yet been overly exposed to high levels of tourism, thus offering an ideal environment for the welfare of bees and the smooth development of beekeeping. In a previous related study investigating the antibacterial actions of 31 Greek and Cypriot honeys against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa, it was shown that the MICs varied between 3.125% (v/v) and 25% (v/v) depending on the honey sample and target pathogen [12]. In that older study, the MICs of a sample of manuka honey (UMF 25+), which was used as positive control and for comparison, were found equal to 6.25% (v/v) and 12.5% (v/v) against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, respectively. ...
Honey is a natural food with a long history as a traditional medicine because of its many biological characteristics, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, the antimicrobial actions of eight different honeys from Lemnos island (north-eastern Greece) plus manuka honey (from New Zealand, UMF 30+, licensed in many countries as topical medical preparation) were evaluated against 10 clinically relevant bacteria, including five Gram-positive and five Gram-negative. To achieve this, an agar well diffusion assay measured the diameter of inhibition zones (mm) of two selected concentrations for each honey (25% and 12.5% v/v). The minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC) of each sample were also calculated and compared against two representative bacterial species (Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus) using broth microdilution and agar spot methods, respectively. The pH, water activity (aw), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and diastase levels, together with the pollen type and content of each honey, were also determined. Results revealed that all the Lemnos honeys presented antibacterial action, which for some samples was like that of manuka. These all had an acidic pH (3.61 ± 0.04), with a aw ≤ 0.60, while it is worth noting that those found to display the strongest antibacterial actions also presented the lowest HMF content, together with the highest diastase values, both of the latter being used as quality parameters. Pollen composition of the Lemnos honeys was multifloral, underlining the rich plant biodiversity encountered on the island. To summarize, Lemnos honeys could be further exploited as natural antimicrobial systems for use in foods and medicine.
... Comparison to a selection of honeys from different geographical areas showed that MICs for Jarrah and Marri were similar to values published for monofloral honeys (and obtained using methodology similar to the current study), such as European honeydew from Slovakia (MICs of 12.5%) 49 chestnut and pine honeys from Greece (MICs of 3.1-6.2%) 50 heather and buckwheat honeys from Poland (MICs of 3.1-25%) 51 and blueberry and buckwheat honeys from Canada (MICs of 4-16%) 16 , but were generally lower than those reported for European Hawthorn from Slovakia (MIC > 25%) 49 and Rapeseed honey from Greece (MIC of ≥25%) 49,50 . MICs for WA honeys were also similar to those previously obtained for manuka honeys 16,26,49,51,52 , but lower MICs have been published previously for honeys such as buckwheat 19 , heather 20 and chestnut 21 . ...
... Comparison to a selection of honeys from different geographical areas showed that MICs for Jarrah and Marri were similar to values published for monofloral honeys (and obtained using methodology similar to the current study), such as European honeydew from Slovakia (MICs of 12.5%) 49 chestnut and pine honeys from Greece (MICs of 3.1-6.2%) 50 heather and buckwheat honeys from Poland (MICs of 3.1-25%) 51 and blueberry and buckwheat honeys from Canada (MICs of 4-16%) 16 , but were generally lower than those reported for European Hawthorn from Slovakia (MIC > 25%) 49 and Rapeseed honey from Greece (MIC of ≥25%) 49,50 . MICs for WA honeys were also similar to those previously obtained for manuka honeys 16,26,49,51,52 , but lower MICs have been published previously for honeys such as buckwheat 19 , heather 20 and chestnut 21 . ...
... Comparison of the relative susceptibility of each test organism showed that S. aureus was the most susceptible to all four monofloral honeys and manuka, whilst the remaining three test species were similar to each other in susceptibility. Whilst some researchers have observed a similar trend in organism-specific susceptibility 8,50 , others have found no such trend 47 , suggesting that patterns in activity are likely to be both fairly complex and honey-dependent. Phenol equivalence or "total activity" values were largely in agreement with those published in two previous studies 7,8 www.nature.com/scientificreports ...
The antibacterial activity of honeys derived from the endemic flora of the southwest corner of Western Australia, including the trees Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) and Marri (Corymbia calophylla), remains largely unexplored. Investigation of these honeys showed minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 6.7–28.0% (w/v) against Gram positive and negative bacteria. Honey solutions showed enhanced antibacterial activity after hydrogen peroxide was allowed to accumulate prior to testing, with a mean MIC after accumulation of 14.3% compared to 17.4% before accumulation. Antibacterial activity was reduced after treatment with catalase enzyme, with a mean MIC of 29.4% with catalase compared to 15.2% without catalase. Tests investigating the role of the Gram negative outer membrane in honey susceptibility revealed increases in activity after destabilisation of the outer membrane. Honeys reduced both the formation of biofilm and the production of bacterial pigments, which are both regulated by quorum sensing. However, these reductions were closely correlated with global growth inhibition. Honey applied to existing biofilms resulted in decreased metabolic activity and minor decreases in viability. These results enhance our understanding of the mechanisms of antibacterial action of Jarrah and Marri honeys, and provide further support for the use of honey in the treatment of infected wounds.
... Honey has antibacterial activity, which has been widely recognized, against a broad spectrum of Gram-positive and Gramnegative bacteria (Jantakee & Tragoolpua, 2015;Fyfe, Okoro, Paterson, Coyle, & McDougall, 2017;Poovelikunnel et al., 2018). The antibacterial properties of honey are attributed to its chemical composition such as osmolarity, the presence of hydrogen peroxide, low pH and the role of phytochemical compounds such as polyphenols, antioxidants, antimicrobial peptides as well as Maillard reaction products (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013). ...
... Inhibition values were distinct among the samples analyzed for the inhibition established percentage (≥ 70%). The antimicrobial activity of dark honeys was also observed for E. coli (Tenore et al., 2012) and for S. aureus (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013). The presence of different components of honey are responsible for the antimicrobial activity of honey, related to its acidity, high osmolarity and hydrogen peroxide. ...
... The presence of different components of honey are responsible for the antimicrobial activity of honey, related to its acidity, high osmolarity and hydrogen peroxide. Nonperoxide factors such as lysozyme, phenolic acids and flavonoids also contribute for antibacterial properties (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013). The Aroeira honey shows a high level of phenolic compounds produced and provided by flowers to bees for honey production (Bastos et al., 2016). ...
The biological activity of honey has been the subject of great scientific investigation. Bee products are widely used in folk medicine to treat human diseases due to their antibacterial and inhibitory potential action on different human pathogens. Ten honey samples produced by Apis mellifera in the northern of Minas Gerais state were tested against pathogenic microorganisms Staphylococcus aureus TSST (clinical isolated) and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli ATCC 43895 for determination of their minimum inhibitory concentrations. The microdilution technique in broth Mueller-Hinton broth (MHB) was used in four concentrations (25, 12.5, 6.25 and 3.125%). There was a reduction of bacterial growth for the two target species at all concentrations tested. The optimal concentration for inhibition of S. aureus and E. coli were 3.125% (w/v). Therefore, the antibacterial activity of the tested samples evidences the potential of Aroeira honey produced in the north of Minas Gerais for therapeutic use, thus contributing to the aggregation value and commercialization of this type of honey. © 2018, Eduem - Editora da Universidade Estadual de Maringa. All rights reserved.
... Another important factor that determines the bacterial inhibition efficacy is honey's moisture content and dilution. Table S2 reports inhibition by highly diluted honey samples with MICs as low as 3.1% v/v against S. aureus [107][108][109][110], S. epidermidis [109], E. coli [109], and P. aeruginosa [109]. Less effective honeys present MICs as high as 50% v/v [110]. ...
... Table S3: Fungal strains inhibited by different honey types, their corresponding MIC values, and their mechanism of action, as suggested by the authors. References [19,[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]125,[127][128][129][272][273][274][275][276][277][278][279][280][281][282][283][284][285] are cited in Supplementary Materials. ...
Honey was used in traditional medicine to treat wounds until the advent of modern medicine. The rising global antibiotic resistance has forced the development of novel therapies as alternatives to combat infections. Consequently, honey is experiencing a resurgence in evaluation for antimicrobial and wound healing applications. A range of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains and biofilms, are inhibited by honey. Furthermore, susceptibility to antibiotics can be restored when used synergistically with honey. Honey’s antimicrobial activity also includes antifungal and antiviral properties, and in most varieties of honey, its activity is attributed to the enzymatic generation of hydrogen peroxide, a reactive oxygen species. Non-peroxide factors include low water activity, acidity, phenolic content, defensin-1, and methylglyoxal (Leptospermum honeys). Honey has also been widely explored as a tissue-regenerative agent. It can contribute to all stages of wound healing, and thus has been used in direct application and in dressings. The difficulty of the sustained delivery of honey’s active ingredients to the wound site has driven the development of tissue engineering approaches (e.g., electrospinning and hydrogels). This review presents the most in-depth and up-to-date comprehensive overview of honey’s antimicrobial and wound healing properties, commercial and medical uses, and its growing experimental use in tissue-engineered scaffolds.
... Studies on the antibacterial activity of honeydew honeys reported superior antibacterial efficacy compared to nectar honeys, even stronger than manuka honey [2][3][4][5]. The antibacterial activity of honeydew honeys could be largely attributed to hydrogen peroxide formation [2][3][4]. ...
... Studies on the antibacterial activity of honeydew honeys reported superior antibacterial efficacy compared to nectar honeys, even stronger than manuka honey [2][3][4][5]. The antibacterial activity of honeydew honeys could be largely attributed to hydrogen peroxide formation [2][3][4]. However, results of recent research indicated that although hydrogen peroxide plays an important role in the inhibition of bacterial growth, phenolics and their interaction with hydrogen peroxide might be the key factors for the antibacterial activity of honeydew honeys [6]. ...
Honey is a natural food consisting mainly of sugars, enzymes, amino acids, organic acids, vitamins, minerals and aromatic substances. In addition to specific organoleptic properties, honey also has other components that contribute to its nutritional and health value. Proteins, vitamins, minerals, organic acids and phenolic compounds, the most variable components of honey, are predominantly responsible for its strong bioactive effect. Honeydew honey is a less known type of honey with outstanding antimicrobial and antioxidant properties that also demonstrates prebiotic effects and can promote the growth of probiotic bacteria. Foodborne illnesses can be prevented by using probiotic strains in combination with prebiotics. The aim of this study was for the first time to determine potential synergistic antimicrobial effect of fir (Abies alba Mill.) honeydew honey (HS) and probiotic bacteria Lactiplantibacillus plantarum on Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium, a primary cause of foodborne illnesses. The effect of three different samples of fir honeydew honey on the growth of L. plantarum in de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) medium and the potential synergistic effect of HSs and L. plantarum on the growth of S. Typhimurium in the Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) medium were examined. The results indicate that concentrations of 1 and 5% of all three HS samples stimulate the growth and metabolic activity of L. plantarum, while a concentration of 10% inhibits the growth of L. plantarum. The concentration of 5% of all three HS and L. plantarum combined inhibits the growth of S. Typhimurium in BHI broth. Fir honeydew honey showed potential prebiotic properties and antimicrobial activity, both of which can synergistically enhance the probiotic efficacy of L. plantarum against S. Typhimurium To conclude, the combination of fir honeydew honey and L. plantarum represents a successful combination against S. Typhimurium and additional experiments are necessary regarding the mechanisms of their combined effect.
... Typhimurium) strains. All strains were isolated from clinical samples, identified, and characterized by standard laboratory methods at Attikon University General Hospital [13,35]. All bacteria were routinely grown in MH Broth (NEOGEN, Heywood, UK) or MH agar (NEOGEN, Heywood, UK) at 37 • C. ...
... A number of studies have demonstrated high antibacterial activity of Greek honeys against major nosocomial and foodborne pathogens [1,13,35,53]. However, this is the first study aiming to isolate and characterize bacteria from diverse types of Greek honeys exhibiting antibacterial potential. ...
It has been suggested that microorganisms present in honey are a potential source of antimicrobial compounds. This study aimed to isolate and characterize bacteria from 46 Greek honey samples of diverse botanical and geographical origin and to determine whether these bacteria demonstrate antibacterial activity against five important nosocomial and foodborne pathogens. In total, 2014 bacterial isolates were obtained and screened for antibacterial activity. Overall, 16% of the isolates inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, 11.2% inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, 10.2% inhibited the growth of Salmonella Typhimurium and 12.4% of the isolates affected the growth of Citrobacter freundii. In total, 316 isolates that inhibited the growth of more than two of the tested pathogens were grouped by restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) analysis of the 16S rRNA gene amplicon. Fifty of them were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The majority, 62% of the isolates, belonged to the genus Bacillus. Only 10% of the isolates were identified as Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, in several bacterial isolates, genes encoding polyketide synthases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases that catalyze the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites which might contribute to the exerted antimicrobial activity, were detected. This study demonstrates that honey microbiota exerts antimicrobial activity and is a putative source of secondary metabolites against important nosocomial and food pathogens that warrants further investigation.
... In spite of the antibacterial activity that manuka honey has demonstrated against numerous pathogens (Beena et al., 2018;Carter et al., 2016;Hammond & Donkor, 2013;Hillitt, Jenkins, Spiller, & Beeton, 2017;Qamar et al., 2018) other honeys produced worldwide have shown similar or superior antibacterial potency thus representing attractive alternatives in medical practice, health nutrition or as natural preservatives in food industry (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013;Bucekova, Buriova, Pekarik, Majtan, & Majtan, 2018;Deng et al., 2018;Grego et al., 2016;Junie, Vic a, Glevitzky, & Matei, 2016;Ku s et al., 2016;Matzen et al., 2018;Morroni et al., 2018;Poli et al., 2018a;Sherlock et al., 2010;Stagos et al., 2018;Vald es-Silverio et al., 2018). The aim of this study was to examine the antibacterial activity of nine honeys produced in Mt. ...
... No. 5) could be solely attributed to hydrogen peroxide, while hydrogen peroxide and proteinaceous compounds contributed to antibacterial activity of the same honey against another tested pathogen. Such a difference might reflect an altered bacterial susceptibility due to distinct antibacterial mechanisms which is in agreement with previous studies (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013;Stagos et al., 2018). ...
The antibacterial activity of nine honeys produced in Mt. Olympus area (Greece) against five major nosocomial and foodborne pathogens was assessed by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) determination. Furthermore, MICs of treated honeys with catalase or proteinase K were determined and compared with those of untreated honeys. The MIC values of honeys against Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumonia varied from 6.25% (v/v) to 12.5% (v/v) while manuka MIC value for all tested strains has been determined at 12.5% (v/v).Honeys that tested against Citrobacter freundii, Salmonella infantis, and Salmonella typhimurium have shown MICs ranged from 12.5% (v/v) to 25% (v/v). The MBC values of honeys, including manuka honey, against all bacterial strains were determined at the same concentration as of MIC values thus indicating significant bactericidal activity exerted by all honeys. Importantly, some honeys had exerted stronger antibacterial activity than manuka honey which is used to combat infections caused by multidrug resistant pathogens. Hydrogen peroxide and uncharacterized proteinaceous compounds were identified as the major antibacterial agents as it is reflected by elevated MIC values demonstrated by almost all catalase treated honeys (raised twofold up to fourfold) and several proteinase K treated honeys (twofold increase). Further research regarding the characterization of antibacterial agents present in Mt. Olympus honeys as well as elucidation of their molecular targets might lead to applications in medicine and food industry.
... This highlights the promising potential for exploring alternative honey varieties in various medical applications. 52,83,84 The price of manuka honey has witnessed a substantial surge in recent years, primarily driven by soaring demand, coupled with adverse weather conditions that have affected honey production, leading to reduced availability. This price escalation is quite pronounced, with the bulk cost of manuka honey surging from a range of $10.45-60.00 ...
The surge in the use of honey in modern medicine, driven by concerns over escalating antibiotic resistance, places an unprecedented emphasis on the need for medically safe and effective honey. In response, the term ‘medical-grade honey’ (MGH) emerged, accompanied by stringent criteria. However, the evolving landscape of honey authenticity challenges and new medical device regulations demand a comprehensive revision of MGH criteria and a refined definition. This article provides a clear definition of MGH and refines its standards. MGH must be: organically produced; undergo gamma sterilisation; adhere to clinical safety benchmarks; meet production standards; and meet specific physicochemical criteria, affirming its suitability for medical use. Furthermore, the authors advocate for proven biological activity in MGH, including antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, vital for medical efficacy. This paper also sheds light on significant regulatory shifts introduced by the European Union's Medical Device Regulation, enhancing device safety while demanding increased investment in terms of cost and effort. In summary, the presented refined guidelines ensure secure, effective honey use in medical contexts, reaffirming MGH's role in modern healthcare.
... Moreover, Manuka exhibited comparable or less effective antibacterial activity as honeydew honey samples. Stronger antibacterial potential against Gram-positive, than Gram-negative bacteria was observed by many authors, as well as for honeydew honey 40 and also for blossom honey 15,40,78,79 . In turn, MIC values for pine honeydew honeys from Greece against S. aureus were lower than obtained by us for Polish honeydew honey, ranging from 3.125 to 12.5% (v/v) whereas for Manuka honey used for comparison, the MIC was 3.125 40 . ...
The aim of the present study was to compare the antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral activities of Podkarpackie coniferous honeydew honey and Manuka honey. The quality of tested honey samples (honeydew-12 and Manuka-4) regarding honey standard was evaluated as well as additional indicators (methylglyoxal, total phenolics and HPTLC phenolic profile, antioxidant potential, glucose oxidase activity, and hydrogen peroxide) were compared. Antibacterial potential was analyzed against Gram-positive (S. aureus and B. cereus) and Gram-negative (E. coli and S. enterica) bacteria. Antiviral activity against different RNA (phi6, MS2) and DNA (T7, phiX174) bacteriophages considered as “viral surrogates” was determined. Based on the determined physicochemical parameters the good quality of tested honeys was confirmed, excluding two samples. The content of polyphenolic compounds in honeydew honey ranged from 583.87 to 1102.42 mg of gallic acid/kg and was strongly correlated with the antioxidant properties. Moreover, for samples with the strongest activity these parameters were comparable to Manuka honey. However, the obtained HPTLC polyphenolic profiles were completely different for honeydew than for Manuka honey which exhibited additional bands (Rf = 0.74 and 0.52). Honeydew honeys were characterized by a strong antiviral and antibacterial properties most of all against Gram-positive bacteria. The MICs (minimal inhibitory concentrations) for S. aureus and B. cereus ranged 15–35% and 8–15% for honeydew and Manuka honeys, respectively. The strongest antiviral properties of honeydew honey were demonstrated mainly against RNA bacteriophages (phi6, MS2) which was even higher than for Manuka honey, especially against MS2 virus. The obtained results suggest that Podkarpackie honeydew honey with the controlled glucose oxidase activity may be a natural substance used to combat viral and bacterial diseases.
... In the present study, chestnut-predominant honey samples were tested in three different concentrations calculated according to the most prevalent MIC (6.75%) identified in the susceptibility test of fungal and bacterial strains. This MIC in honey has been previously reported against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013), including against P. aeruginosa biofilms (Balázs et al., 2023)The biofilm removal assays evidenced the antimicrobial effectiveness of honey against C. albicans, E. coli, and S. aureus biofilms. These results were also demonstrated in other studies where honey was widely effective against gram-positive bacteria, namely S. aureus (Farkas et al., 2022;Nedić et al., 2022), and the fungus C. albicans (Fernandes et al., 2021). ...
Honey is considered a promising strategy for chronic wound management, being a possible solution for bacterial
resistance problem mostly due to its physical-chemical features. However, these properties might vary significantly
depending on the honey floral source. Dark-colored honey, such as chestnut honey, is related to increased
antioxidant and bactericidal properties. This study aims to assess biofilms of multidrug-resistant microorganisms
in honey samples from the Natural Park of Montesinho, in Portugal, which is considered a region with predominant
chestnut floral source. The minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of honey was tested for Staphylococcus
aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. The biofilm
removal as well as the metabolic inactivation of the biofilms were evaluated using three honey concentrations:
1xMIC, 5xMIC, and 10xMIC. The biofilm viability was analyzed with fluorescent microscopy. Honey samples
were characterized according to the pollen profile, phenolic composition, H2O2 levels, tyrosinase inhibition, and
pH. The antioxidant capacity was determined through FRAP and ABTS assays. Most of the honey samples
exhibited a MIC of 6.75%. Biofilm removal efficacy differs among samples. Regression analysis evidenced a
positive correlation between the biofilm removal and concentrations of H2O2, vanillic acid, pinocembrin, Cytisus
striatus and Corrigiola telephiifolia, and pH. The honey concentration of 10xMIC was the most effective to inhibit
the biofilm metabolism and viability. The concentrations of C. sativa, H2O2, and the anti-tyrosinase and FRAP
activities were also positively correlated. The honey samples had a dominant presence of Castanea sativa pollen
and were effective against biofilms formed by multidrug-resistant microorganisms.
... Currently, most publications focus on Manuka honey, and bandages and gels containing this honey are available in the market. However, the MIC values for Manuka honeys against P. aeruginosa range from 6% to 33% [12,[28][29][30][31]. This implies that Polish honeys, such as linden and heather, do not lag behind Manuka honey in terms of antibacterial activity. ...
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is recognized as an opportunistic pathogen and a common contributor to wound infections. This study focused on evaluating the antibacterial activity of selected Polish honeys against P. aeruginosa. Six bacterial strains isolated from wounds and four types of honeys (multifloral, linden, buckwheat, and heather) were utilized. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined through the micro-dilution method employing 96-well plates, while antibiofilm activity was assessed using fluorescence microscopy after a 4-hour incubation period with the honeys. Results indicated diverse antibacterial efficacy among honeys, with linden and heather honeys demonstrating the most potent activity. Linden honey displayed an average MIC of 20.8%, while heather honey exhibited an MIC of 25%. Both honeys significantly reduced biofilm formation, with linden honey achieving a reduction of 54-67% and heather honey of 45-58%. Buckwheat and multifloral honeys exhibited lower activity, demonstrating average MIC levels of 37.5% and 41.7%, respectively, and a biofilm reduction below 20%. Conclusively, Polish honeys exhibited promising activity against both planktonic and biofilm forms of P. aeruginosa. These findings suggest potential applications in wound healing treatments, emphasizing the need for further research in this area. The study contributes valuable insights to the limited literature on the antibacterial activity of Polish honeys.
... The laboratory-synthesized honey was prepared by mixing 3 g sucrose, 15 g maltose, 80.1 g fructose, and 67 g glucose (all supplied by Sigma-Aldrich, Athens, Greece) in 34 mL deionized and sterile water. The sugar solution was heated to 56 • C in a water bath to help with dissolving [55]. ...
The aim of this study was to examine the impact of twenty honey samples, harvested in Mt. Olympus (Greece), on the virulence factors implicated in P. aeruginosa pathogenesis. Six key virulence factors (protease and elastase activity, pyocyanin and pyoverdine concentration, biofilm formation, and swimming motility) were selected in order to assess the effect of the tested honeys compared with Manuka honey. All tested honeys demonstrated a significant inhibition of protease and elastase activity compared with the control. Six and thirteen honeys exerted superior protease (no inhibition zone) and elastase (values lower than 55%) activity, respectively, compared with Manuka honey. Seventeen tested honeys exhibited reduced pyoverdine production compared with the control; all tested honeys, except for one, showed an inhibitory effect on pyocyanin production compared with the control. Regarding swimming motility, nine tested honeys demonstrated significantly higher inhibition compared with Manuka honey. Honey concentrations (6% v/v and 8% v/v) had the most profound impact, as they reduced biofilm formation to less than 20% compared with the control. Overall, our data demonstrate a significant inhibition of the virulence factors in the tested Mt. Olympus honeys, highlighting the strong antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa, an antibiotic-resistant pathogen of growing concern, which is implicated in severe nosocomial infections globally.
... Honey exhibits potent antibacterial activity; thus, its use in modern medicine represents an attractive alternative treatment to combat multidrug resistant pathogens as described by Kuś et al., [7], and Anthimidou and Mossialos [8]. In the conditions of the pandemic, honey is known for its effects in the treatment of a number of symptoms of the upper respiratory tract, especially for colds and coughs in children, as well as other good effects on the proper functioning of the digestive system, blood circulation, nervous system, etc. ...
On the basis of our thesis stands the importance of the role of curricular projects and the creative didactic work of educators in educational institutions, for the fusion of the fields of standards with the approach based on the competencies of the subject. The Curriculum Framework of Preschool Education in Albania has the status of a political document, with national force. It is in full resonance with the curriculum in public education. The paper is conceived, referring to the basic dimensions of the health growth and education of the children in the age group 3-6 years. Our paper aims through language games in interdisciplinary projects at preschool age children to address the key competencies of the curriculum, fusing the standards of the field of health and nutrition with the competence of thinking and speaking. More precisely, this research treats the interaction of two standards in fields such as: health and food where as a study reference we have honey as a food product of particular importance especially during the pandemic period, as well as the language development, thinking and speech. Based on the curriculum, an informative lecture specified for this value-added organic food product especially during the Covid 19 period was developed alternating with their perceptions towards this product. Our study is extended to 10 schools and 20 kindergartens of public education in the city of Tirana. We collected data from children and educators, with a sample of 500 children and 30 educators participating in the study, where 65% of educators combined language components in the implementation of the interdisciplinary project in preschool education classes, for knowledge of honey through language games. The methodological approach of this paper is based on observation, research, surveys, structured online questionnaires and lectures addressed to educators and children aged 3-6 years to improve knowledge about honey through language games. When structuring methodology, we have relied on the Ministry of Education and Sports literature, in the curriculum and the Strategy of pre-university education, on the draft of organic standards for Honey in Albania but also on many years of personal experiences in the field of education and food sciences. The analysis of the results is performed both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Statistical analysis of data was performed with programs Statistics 7 and Excel. The results showed that the perception of educators and children regarding the knowledge of the organic product (honey) is very optimal, where 100% of them showed that they knew it as a food product, but 55% of them did not have complete information on how to use it, time of use, quantity or perception of its quality. About 60% of the educators did not combine the field of nutrition with the competence of thinking and speaking but formal education added the attributes of these educators to fuse these fields using didactic and linguistic innovations. 41.7% of teachers use the roles of teacher and student during the structuring of the lesson, but in the conditions of the pandemic it became very difficult to realize the diary with Journal of Hygienic Engineering and Design 457 competencies because the distance learning made it impossible for them to find the correct activity to adapt with competence. The effect of formal education on the perceptions of educators and children about honey as an organic product with added value especially nowadays, influenced the formation of their clear concepts about the attributes treated for food safety of honey. We suggest University auditors to train capable teachers to implement a new curriculum.
... Hence, future research in the field should focus on understanding the mechanisms of action of whole honey, particularly its molecular targets. Detailed studies, including transcriptome analysis, can contribute to elucidating the global effects of honey on microbial cells [50]. ...
Honey has been shown to have antimicrobial activity against different microorganisms, but its effects on oral biofilms are largely unknown. In this review, we analyzed the currently available literature on the antimicrobial activity of honey against oral biofilms in order to determine its potential as a functional food in the treatment and/or prevention of oral diseases. Here, we compare studies reporting on the antimicrobial activity of honey against systemic and oral bacteria, discuss methodological strategies, and point out current gaps in the literature. To date, there are no consistent studies supporting the use of honey as a therapy for oral diseases of bacterial origin, but current evidence in the field is promising. The lack of studies examining the antibiofilm activity of honey against oral microorganisms reveals a need for additional research to better define aspects such as chemical composition, the mechanism(s) of action, and antimicrobial action.
... The use of honey to treat microbial infections has been investigated previously [34,51,67,76]. The honey antimicrobial properties are due to a high sugar osmolarity or the presence of other biologically active compounds [33,[77][78][79][80]. The osmotic stress of honey is due to the high content of various sugars in combination with its low moisture content, which prevents the spoilage of honey by microorganisms. ...
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The current investigation was conducted to characterize the Sidr honey through melissopalynological analysis, its physicochemical, and biochemical properties, antimicrobial, antioxidant activities as well as total phenolic and total flavonoid contents. For this purpose, Sidr honey samples collected from the Saudi market imported from 12 different countries were analyzed.
Abstract
The current investigation was conducted to assess the melissopalynological, physicochemical, and biochemical properties, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities as well as total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of 794 Sidr honey samples collected from the Saudi market that had been imported from 12 different countries. Testing Sidr honey from different countries showed different levels of growth suppression observed against five drug resistant bacterial strains. The pathogenic strains were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antimicrobial activity showed growth suppression levels which varied according to the origin of the honey. The comparative study of Sidr honeys revealed a strong correlation between total polyphenol and flavonoid contents and significant radical scavenging activities in particular Egyptian and Saudi Arabian honeys. The melissopalynological and physicochemical properties of different Sidr honeys complied with the recommendations of the WHO Codex Alimentarius, the European Union standards for honey quality, and the Gulf Technical Regulation on honey (GSO 147:2008-Standards Store-GCC Standardization Organization). It was concluded that Sidr honey from different geographical areas has the capacity to suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria and perform significant radical scavenging activities.
... Also, thyme honey originated from Kos, Kea, Kithira, Rhodes, Mani showed high antibacterial and antifungal activity towards S. aureus (ATCC 25923), S. epidermidis (ATCC 12228), E. coli (ATCC 25922), E. cloacae (ATCC 13047), K. pneumoniae (ATCC 13883) and P. aeruginosa (ATCC 227853), C. albicans (ATCC 10231), C. tropicalis (ATCC 13801) and C. glabrata (ATCC 28838) (Melliou & Chinou, 2011). 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). ...
The antibacterial potential of honey has been of great scientific interest. Understanding the underlying mechanism is essential to explore its potential as therapeutic alternative against a range of (non)pathogenic microorganisms. The floral origin of honey is critical for its antibacterial activity and Greek thyme honeys have been of increasing interest due to their chemical composition and bioactivity. In this study, the antimicrobial effect of six Greek honeys, with different percentages of thyme pollen grains and two Manuka honeys were tested against four MRSA clinical isolates (ATCC 43300, 0791, 28965, 01322). Agar‐well diffusion assay and total viable counts were used to examine the antimicrobial strength of honeys, while the effect thereof on cellular redox state and cell membrane was tested by flow cytometry. Thyme honeys had superior or equal antimicrobial strength compared to this of Manuka, while thermal processing did not significantly affect this activity. Acidity and the high H2O2 content, common features for all thyme honeys, caused cellular oxidative damage and cell death unlike observed in Manuka‐treated populations. The activity of the monofloral thyme honey (74% thyme pollen) was higher than the other indigenous polyfloral samples, which confirms the medicinal importance of this medicinal plant.
... MIC values of about 3% (v/v) have been observed in some Greek and Cypriot honey [52] and in Canadian buckwheat honey [48]. ...
The aim of this study was the characterization and evaluation with in vitro test of some biological activities of honey samples belonging to the Algerian flora. Physicochemical analyses were performed to evaluate the quality of the honey samples. Total phenols, flavonoid content, and free radical scavenging activity of 2,2- diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were measured as antioxidant determinants. Finally, in vitro antimicrobial tests
were carried out to evaluate the inhibitory capacity against certain micro-organisms (Gram+ and Gram− bacteria and a yeast species). According to the results, the majority of the
samples met the appropriate standards for good quality. Their total phenolic content was average, while the flavonoid content was considerable. The DPPH antiradical test
gave positive and strong results, with the darker colored honey and even citrus honey showing the best activity. The antimicrobial results showed significant capabilities against all bacteria studied. Only a honey sample labeled as “Sulla honey” was able to inhibit the spread of the yeast Candida albicans. Statistical analyses revealed that the differences
in all results were significant between samples, confirming the influence of botanical and geographical origin.
... This is attributed to natural variations in floral sources and climatic conditions at different locations (8). Therefore, several researchers have investigated the therapeutic effects of kinds of honey obtained from different geographical areas worldwide (9,10). In addition, some honey varieties have been implicated in the differential expression of a number of genes essential for bacterial survival and virulence, including those involved in stress tolerance, virulence factor production, as well as multicellular behaviors, such as biofilm formation, and quorum sensing (11,12). ...
Background and Objectives: Honey has excellent antibacterial properties against various microorganisms of several different species. To date, there is no comparative evaluation of the antibacterial activity of Jarrah honey (JH), Kelulut Madu honey (KMH), Gelam honey (GH), and Acacia honey (AH) with that of Manuka honey (MH). The purpose of this study was to conduct such study and to compare the antibacterial activity of JH, KMH, GH, and AH with that of MH against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes.
Materials and Methods: Activity was assessed using broth microdilution, time kill viability, microtiter plate, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR).
Results: The susceptibility tests revealed promising antibacterial activities of all honeys against both bacteria. The MICs of JH, KMH, GH, and AH ranged from 20% to 25% compared to MH (12.5%) against both bacteria. The MBCs of JH, KMH, GH, and AH ranged from 20% to 50% compared to MH (20%) against both bacteria. Treatment of both bacteria with 2× MIC (Minimum inhibitory concentration) of MH, JH, KMH, GH, and AH for 9 hours resulted in reduction in colony-forming unit (CFU/ml). SEM images showed that the morphological changes, cell destruction, cell lysis and biofilm disruption in both bacteria after exposure to all honeys. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that the expression of all genes in both bacteria were downregulated following treatment with all honeys. Among the all-tested honeys, MH showed the highest total antibacterial and antivirulence activities.
Conclusion: Our results indicate that all honeys activity included inhibition of both bacteria due to a decrease in expression of essential genes associated with both bacteria, suggesting that all honeys could potentially be used as an alternative therapeutic agent against certain microorganisms particularly against P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes.
... In recent decades, scientific interest has been focused on the antibacterial activity of diverse types of honey against clinical and foodborne pathogens [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] as well as on antioxidant activity [12,[17][18][19][20]. Recently, honey antibacterial activity has been proposed as a valuable parameter determining its quality which takes into account the biological properties of honey [21]. ...
Pine honey is a honeydew honey produced in the East Mediterranean region (Greece and Turkey) from the secretions of the plant sucking insect Marchalina hellenica (Gennadius) (Coccoidea: Marchalini-dae) feeding on living parts of Pinus species. Nowadays, honeydew honey has attracted great attention due to its biological activities. The aim of this study was to study unifloral pine honey samples produced in Greece regarding their physicochemical parameters and antioxidant and antibacterial activity against five nosocomial and foodborne pathogens. These honeys showed physicochemical and microscopic characteristics within the legal limits, except for diastase activity, a parameter known to be highly variable, depending on various factors. Substantially higher levels of H2O2 were estimated compared to other types of honeydew honey, whereas protein content was similar. The total phenolic content was 451.38 ± 120.38 mg GAE/kg and antiradical activity ranged from 42.43 to 79.33%, while FRAP values (1.87 to 9.43 mmol Fe⁺²/kg) were in general higher than those reported in the literature. Various correlations could be identified among these parameters. This is the first attempt to investigate in depth the antibacterial activity of pine honey from Greece and correlate it with honey quality parameters. All tested honeys exerted variable but significant antibacterial activity, expressed as MIC and MBC values, comparable or even superior to manuka honey for some tested samples. Although honey antibacterial activity is mainly attributed to hydrogen peroxide and proteins in some cases (demonstrated by elevated MICs after catalase and Proteinase K treatment, respectively), no strong correlation between the antibacterial activity and hydrogen peroxide concentration or total protein content was demonstrated in this study. However, there was a statistically significant correlation of moisture, antioxidant and antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneuomoniae, as well as antioxidant and antibacterial activity against Salmonella ser. Typhimurium. Interestingly, a statistically significant negative correlation has been observed between diastase activity and Staphylococcus aureus antibacterial activity. Overall, our data indicate multiple mechanisms of antibacterial activity exerted by pine honey.
... It is accepted that the chemical composition of honey-and, consequently, its bioactivity-depends on the geographical position and, consequently, on the botanical source of the harvested honey. Manuka honey, which originates from New Zealand, is very famous for its antibacterial activity in comparison with other types of honey around the world [19]. Stakos et al. demonstrated that some types of Greek honey originating from Mount Olympus have superior antibacterial and antioxidant properties [20]. ...
Background and objectives: Honey products contain a lot of compounds, such as vitamins, enzymes, and minerals, which make honey and its products a great antioxidant with a critical role in health status. It is well accepted that honey and propolis can improve a lot of health problems when they are consumed in certain quantities. The objective of this study is to help regular blood donors improve their health status after donation. Material and methods: Eighty regular blood donor volunteers—30 males aged 19–61 and 30 females aged 21–64—were divided into 4 groups: group A (n = 20) consumed 2 spoons of Greek honey and 1 drop of propolis per day for 1 month, group B (n = 20) consumed 2 spoons of honey per day for 1 month, group C (n = 20) consumed 1 drop of propolis per day, and group D (n = 20) did not consume any Greek honey products. Blood samples were collected from all participants just before the consumption of the products, one month after the consumption, and six months after honey product consumption had ceased. All samples were analyzed for reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid profiles, and ferritin levels. Results: The ROS were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in groups A, B, and C after the honey product consumption and increased significantly again after six months. No significant differences in lipid profiles were observed. Only triglyceride levels were increased after six months in all groups. On the other hand, ferritin levels were not statistically significantly decreased after six months in groups A and B, while they were increased in group C. Conclusions: In the present study, statistically significant decreases in ROS status was found after a small dose of honey product consumption, indicating a diet with an extra small dose of honey products after blood donation.
... However, the qualitative parameters of medical-grade honey have not yet been defined. Several studies have provided compelling evidence that every raw honey sample regardless of its botanical and geographical origin exhibits antibacterial activity, irrespective of the sugar content alone [7,[24][25][26]. Identification of key antibacterial compounds, namely GOX and methylglyoxal (MGO), responsible for the pronounced antibacterial activity of different honeys, opens a new avenue in the fabrication of engineered artificial honey-like wound care products. ...
Honey is a functional food with health-promoting properties. Some types of honey are used in wound care for the treatment of acute and chronic infected wounds. Increased interest in using honey as a functional food and as a base for wound care products causes limited availability of raw honey. Numerous studies suggest that the protein content of honey is mainly comprised of bee-derived proteins and peptides, with a pronounced antibacterial effect. Therefore, the aim of our study was to characterize for the first time the antibacterial activity of raw honeys and bee-processed syrups which were made by processing sucrose solution or invert sugar syrup in bee colonies under field conditions. Furthermore, we compared the contents of glucose oxidase (GOX) and the levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in honey samples and bee-processed syrups. These parameters were also compared between the processed sucrose solution and the processed invert sugar syrup. Our results clearly show that natural honey samples possess significantly higher antibacterial activity compared to bee-processed syrups. However, no differences in GOX contents and accumulated levels of H2O2 were found between honeys and bee-processed syrups. Comparison of the same parameters between bee-processed feeds based on the two artificial carbohydrate sources revealed no differences in all measured parameters, except for the content of GOX. The amount of GOX was significantly higher in bee-processed sucrose solutions, suggesting that processor bees can secrete a higher portion of carbohydrate metabolism enzymes. Determination of honey color intensity showed that in bee colonies, bee-processed syrups were partially mixed with natural honey. Further research is needed to identify the key botanical compounds in honey responsible for the increased antibacterial potential of honey.
... Determination of MIC in broth is generally considered as a more sensitive and quantitative precise method to study antibacterial activity as compared to agar well diffusion assay because diffusion rate of active substances might be slower in agar than broth (Tan et al. 2009). The reason for this differential bacterial susceptibility to honey could be attributed to different antibacterial mechanisms exhibited by honey (Anthimidou and Mossialos 2013). For instance, a study on manuka honey's effect on P. aeruginosa has shown structural integrity loss and noticeable changes in the shape of the cell followed by extensive cell disruption and lyses (Henriques et al. 2011). ...
This paper presents a pioneer study on the microbial diversity and antibacterial potential of hive bees (Apiscerana and A.mellifera) honey collected from Himachal Pradesh. In total, 26 bacteria (14 from A.cerana and 12 from A.mellifera) but no fungal isolate were recovered. Bee species and locations comparison in terms of bacterial load (log CFU/g) revealed maximum loads of 3.74 and 3.99 in the honey from A.cerana and Mandi location, respectively. The most prevalent strains (HC3, HC5, HC6, HC8 and HM2) were identified (16S rRNA ribotyping) as Staphylococcushaemolyticus (MT742636), “Bacillussubtilis subsp. stecoris” (MT742637), Bacillussafensis subsp. safensis (MT742638), “Bacilluszanthoxyli” (MT742639) and Bacillussafensis subsp. safensis (MT938911). The apiary honey displayed good to excellent inhibitory activity against Escherichiacoli ATCC1041 whereas, fair to good against Bacillussubtilis ATCC6633, Pseudomonasaeruginosa ATCC10662, Salmonellatyphi NCTC786 and Klebsiellapneumoniae ATCC13883, highlighting its use as a therapeutic agent. Furthermore, it can be effective in minimizing numerous side effects associated with the consumption of synthetic drugs for treating bacterial infections thereby signifying the role of honey as a healthier substitute for synthetic drugs.
... The antibacterial efficacy of the Coorg honey samples was performed on the basis of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines (Anthimidou and Mossialos, 2013). Briefly, overnight bacterial cultures (Streptococcus sp. ...
Natural honey has various ingredients in it that contribute to its incredible properties. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the physicochemical and antibacterial activity of various Apis honey from Coorg, Karnataka. Four samples of Apis honey viz., A. florea, A. mellifera, A. cerana and A. dorsata were collected from various regions of Coorg, Karnataka. The honey samples' physicochemical properties and antibacterial activities against Streptococcus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus sp were determined in vitro. The moisture and ash content varied from 13.6 - 17.2% and 0.32 – 0.49%, respectively. Hydroxy methyl furfurals) content of A. dorsata honey samples was highest with 9.2±0.5 mg/Kg and least was recorded with 6.8±0.4 mg/Kg for A. florae honey. The reducing sugar content of A. florea honey sample was highest with 87.5±3.2 (%) and the peroxide levels were in the range of 10.2 – 14.9 µg/g/h at 20°C. The antibacterial assay revealed that S. aureus, Enterococcus sp and Streptococcus sp were most susceptible against the honey varieties tested and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values between 25-6.5 (%v/v) were determined. In conclusion, honey varieties from Coorg could be used in specific antibacterial prophylaxis as the activity depends on the honey bee species, their metabolism and floral sources in specific geographical regions.
... The MIC of honey treated with bovine catalase or proteinase K was assessed in comparison to the untreated honey as previously described [18,43]. Briefly, 50% (v/v) honey in MH broth containing 100 mg/mL proteinase K (Blirt, Gdansk, Poland) or 600 U/mL bovine catalase (Serva, Heidelberg, Germany) was incubated for 16 h at 37 • C, then diluted and tested as described above. ...
Pine honey is a unique type of honeydew honey produced exclusively in Eastern Mediterranean countries like Greece and Turkey. Although the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of pine honey are well documented, few studies have investigated so far its antibacterial activity. This study investigates the antibacterial effects of pine honey against P. aeruginosa PA14 at the molecular level using a global transcriptome approach via RNA-sequencing. Pine honey treatment was applied at sub-inhibitory concentration and short exposure time (0.5× of minimum inhibitory concentration –MIC- for 45 min). Pine honey induced the differential expression (>two-fold change and p ≤ 0.05) of 463 genes, with 274 of them being down-regulated and 189 being up-regulated. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that pine honey affected a wide range of biological processes (BP). The most affected down-regulated BP GO terms were oxidation-reduction process, transmembrane transport, proteolysis, signal transduction, biosynthetic process, phenazine biosynthetic process, bacterial chemotaxis, and antibiotic biosynthetic process. The up-regulated BP terms, affected by pine honey treatment, were those related to the regulation of DNA-templated transcription, siderophore transport, and phosphorylation. Pathway analysis revealed that pine honey treatment significantly affected two-component regulatory systems, ABC transporter systems, quorum sensing, bacterial chemotaxis, biofilm formation and SOS response. These data collectively indicate that multiple mechanisms of action are implicated in antibacterial activity exerted by pine honey against P. aeruginosa.
... Honey properties and taste vary depending on the flora foraged by bees (such as pine, sage, thyme), the geographical foraging area and the local climatic environment (including temperature, soil, rainfall), as well as processing and storage conditions [1]. Studies have revealed that the strong antimicrobial actions of some of the tested honeys may be superior to that of manuka [6][7][8], known for its rich MGO content [2]. In this study, the antimicrobial actions of eight honeys produced in different locations of Lemnos Island (north-eastern Greece) and that of a manuka honey blend (from New Zealand, UMF 30+) were evaluated against ten clinically relevant bacteria, including five Gram-positive and five Gram-negative. ...
Honey is a natural food that has a long history as a traditional medicine because of its many biological characteristics, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, the antimicrobial actions of eight different honeys from Lemnos island (north-eastern Greece) plus manuka honey (from New Zealand, UMF 30+, licensed in many countries as topical medical preparation) were evaluated against ten clinically relevant bacteria, including five Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus cereus) and five Gram-negative (Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). To achieve this, an agar-well diffusion assay measured the diameter of inhibition zones (mm) of two selected concentrations for each honey (25 and 12.5% v/v). The minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC) of each sample were also calculated and compared against two representative bacterial species (S. Typhimurium and S. aureus) using microdilution and agar spot methods, respectively. The pH, water activity, and pollen-grain content of each honey were also determined. Results revealed that all the Lemnos honeys presented antibacterial action, which for some samples was superior to that of manuka, highlighting their potential for exploitation as natural antimicrobial systems for use in foods and medicine.
... The MIC for each honey is presented in Table 5 The lower MIC was recorded in sample 11, 14 and 19 against S. aureus (6.25%) and these results are in agreement with (Dżugan et al., 2020) who found the MIC of the honeys against S. aureus ranges from 6.25 to 25%. (Anthimidou and Mossialos, 2013) have reported that the MIC of manuka honey was determined at 6.25% against S. aureus and Four ...
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to be of major health concern worldwide. In recent years, several reports and scientific articles claim the contamination of honey by antibiotics, detectable concentrations of antibiotic residues in honey are illegal. They, may cause hypersensitivity or resistance to drug therapy in humans, and are perceived by consumers as undesirable. In this sense, the purpose of this work was to examine the antibacterial activity of the Euphorbia resinifera (E. resinifera) honey against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in vitro
using the well-agar diffusion assay followed by dilution range to obtain more precise minimum inhibitory concentration values. The second
aim is to evaluate the presence of antibiotics in honey using a screening test: Evidence InvestigatorTM, an immuno-enzymatic method for detection of 27 antibiotic residues followed by a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for confirmation of suspect samples; in order to assess the relationship between the presence of antibiotic residues and the antibacterial activity of honey. In this study, a total of 37 E. resinifera honey samples were analyzed. The results show that all samples of honey inhibited the growth of bacteria at the dilutions at 50% (v/v); the highest inhibition zone (25.98 ± 0.11 mm) was recorded from sample 5 for Staphylococcus aureus and
(13.84 ± 1.10 mm) in sample 17 for Escherichia coli and that 50% (v/v) dilutions showed significant antibacterial effect compared to
other dilutions (6.25, 12.5, 25% (v/v)). In all samples, there were no antibiotic residues detected except for one showing the detection of Trimethoprim at 6.48 µg kg-1. Our research is one of the first studies that relate the he relationship between the presence of antibiotic residues and the antibacterial activity of Euphorbia resinifera honey and showed that the antibacterial activity of honey might be due to the high osmotic nature, a low pH, its content of phenolic compounds and hydrogen peroxide and also to its content of methylglyoxal.
... This is attributed to natural variations in floral sources and climatic conditions at different locations (19). Therefore, several researchers have explored the therapeutic effects of honeys obtained from diverse geographical areas worldwide (21)(22)(23). Several studies have addressed different aspects of honey varieties, including their physicochemical properties, chemical composition, antibacterial activity, and therapeutic usefulness (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). ...
Background and objectives:
Tualang honey (TH) is a Malaysian multifloral jungle honey. In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of studies published in medical databases regarding its potential health benefits. The study aimed to investigate the effect of TH against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes.
Materials and methods:
The effect of TH on both bacteria was investigated using MIC, MBC, growth curve, time-kill curve, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and RT-qPCR.
Results:
The MIC of TH against P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes was 18.5% (w/v) and 13% (w/v) respectively and MBC was 25% (w/v) for both bacteria. Spectrophotometric readings of at least 90% inhibition yielded MIC90 values of TH, 18.5% (w/v) and 15% (w/v) for P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes respectively. A time-kill curve demonstrated a bactericidal with a 4-log reduction estimated within 8 hours. Using SEM, loss of structural integrity and marked changes in cell shape were observed. RT-qPCR analysis showed that TH reduced the pattern of gene expression in both bacteria, with a trend toward reduced expression of the virulence genes of interest.
Conclusion:
This study suggests that TH could potentially be used as an alternative therapeutic agent for microbial infection particularly against these two organisms.
... and Brassica napus monofloral honeys, showed antibacterial activity against S. aureus [45,56,57]. On the other hand, several studies highlighted the high susceptibility of S. aureus, especially compared to Gram-negative bacteria [9,11,34,58,59]. These differences in the antibacterial activity could be related to the geographical provenience of honey, the environment of collection zone, the genetic of honeybee and its family could influence the properties of honey. ...
The employment of natural substances such as beehive products with a preventive and therapeutic purpose has been a widespread custom since ancient times. In this investigation, the antibacterial activity of 41 honey samples from different Ukraine regions has been evaluated. For each honey, melissopalynological and physico-chemical analysis were performed in order to determine botanical origin, pH, glucose and fructose contents and free acidity. So, antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus CCM 4223, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium CCM 3807 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 was assessed through the determination of MIC (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) and MBC (Minimum Bactericidal Concentration) values by the microdilutions method. The results show that the most susceptible bacterial strain was L. monocytogenes. Its growth was inhibited at a honey concentration ranging from 0.094 to 0.188 g/mL. The most resistant bacterial strain was S. aureus. As concerns MBC values, L. monocytogenes was the most susceptible bacteria, while S. aureus was the most resistant. Helianthus spp. honeys was the most effective against all tested bacterial strains, followed by Robinia spp. and multifloral honeys. Promising results for MIC tests have been found for Brassica spp.
... Development of multidrug anti-microbial resistance has prompted scientific interest in complex natural products with potent anti-microbial activity, like honey. The anti-bacterial activity of honey is attributed to many factors such as high sugar content, low pH, the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) produced from the bee-derived enzyme glucose oxidase [33,91] and non-peroxide components, i.e., the presence of phytochemical components like methylglyoxal (MGO) [92]. Previous studies have identified a number of biological processes in bacteria that may be affected by honey, including cell division, motility, biofilm formation, quorum sensing (QS), protein synthesis and response to oxidative stress [93][94][95][96][97][98][99]. ...
Foodomics is an emerging research field in food science that applies advanced omics technologies to assess relevant aspects related to food and nutrition, with the ultimate goal to improve human health and well-being. Many studies have already shown the tremendous potential of this approach to boost food science research regarding food authentication and traceability, safety issues, improved quality, bioactivity and the action of specific bioactive compounds in diverse biological systems. Honey bees provide high-quality products and a wide range of benefits to humans. Honey is certainly the most widespread edible bee product. However, nowadays other edible bee products [(royal jelly, propolis, pollen and naturally fermented pollen (bee bread)] are considered superfoods due to their high nutritional value and their beneficial effects on human health. This review aims to present current omics implementations in honey bee product research related to authentication (e.g. botanical origin, biomarker identification), adulteration detection, bioactivity (e.g. anti-microbial, antioxidant), microbiome characterization and their effects on human health. Conclusively, many studies have proven the tremendous potential of -omics technologies in bee product research. This approach will be further implemented in the future: (i) for the comprehensive assessment of bee product authentication, quality, safety and traceability; (ii) to elucidate the role of bioactive compounds in bee products, (iii) to identify novel molecular biomarkers for disease prevention; (iv) to establish the effect of bee products on gut microbiome; (v) to elucidate biological processes of agronomic interest and economic relevance to bee products.
... Honey from stingless bees has a distinct taste and aroma, is more fluid in texture, and has low crystallization. Stingless bee honey has variable and broad-spectrum activities against many different kinds of wound and enteric bacteria (Anthimidou and Mossialos, 2013;Ramalivhana et al., 2014).The removal of exudate after wounds dressing with honey was increasing healing process in inflamed wounds (Ahmed et al., 2003). Honey is hygroscopic, which enables dehydrating bacteria by decreasing the moisture of the environment. ...
This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of Trigona honey against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes. The antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities were examined by agar well diffusion assays, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), time-kill curve, biofilm formation in 96-well plates and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Larger zones of inhibition were recorded from the agar well diffusion method. Trigona honey samples showed clear zones of inhibitions against P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes, 25.2±0.6mm and 26.7±1.0mm respectively. Trigona honey possessed the lowest MIC value against P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes was 20% (w/v) and MBC was 25% (w/v). In addition, MIC 50 was between 10%-12.5% (w/v) and MIC 90 was between 20%-25% (w/v) concentration of honey for both bacteria. In time-kill curve, Trigona honey inhibited P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes in a 3 log10 at 18 hours, and total viable counts (TVCs) were killed after 24 hours at honey concentration of 25%. In biofilm degradation assay, Trigona honey degraded 70% of P. aeruginosa and 68% of S. pyogenes biofilm. Also in biofilm inhibition assay, Trigona honey inhibited 91% of P. aeruginosa and 89% of S. pyogenes biofilms. SEM images of P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes showed that Trigona honey changed shape, size of cells, destroyed cell wall integrity and lysed the cells in both bacteria. Scanning electron microscope images for biofilm of P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes showed that Trigona honey decreased cell density, and cells appeared curved of P. aeruginosa and rough, holes and crevices of S. pyogenes. In sum, Trigona honey disrupted and damaged biofilm formation. This study demonstrated that Trigona honey has high antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against both bacteria in vitro and showed the efficacy of honey against biofilm in different degrees of potential effect. The study supports previous finding that Trigona honey can be used as an alternative medicine for various bacterial infections.
... MGH1 contains lower levels of methylglyoxal, but acts via other components, such as hydrogen peroxide, bee defensin-1, low pH, sugars and high osmolarity. 39,40 MGH1 previously has been evaluated in a pilot clinical trial which reported favourable antibacterial potential in canine otitis externa. 41 In addition, MGH1 has been evaluated in vitro reiterating its antifungal and antibacterial properties via a hydrogen peroxide-independent action. 2 In that study, MGH1 was compared to honey, showing that MGH1 had a significantly stronger bactericidal effect than honey alone against S. pseudintermedius isolates (P = 0.003). ...
Background
Antimicrobial resistance is a problem in human and animal healthcare. Honey may be used for its wound healing properties and antimicrobial effects.
Objective
To investigate the antimicrobial activity of two commercially available medical grade honeys (MGHs) against Staphylococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. isolates.
Methods and materials
Two formulations, MGH1 (40% w/v honey) and MGH2 (80% w/v Manuka honey), were tested in vitro for minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC) against 11 Staphylococcus and 11 Pseudomonas isolates at low [1.5 × 10⁴ colony forming units (cfu)/well] and high (1.5 × 10⁶ cfu/well) concentrations of inoculum, representing systemic and cutaneous bacterial loads during infection, respectively.
Results
MGH2 showed a lower MIC against staphylococci than MGH1, although this was not statistically significant. MGH1 had stronger bactericidal effects against staphylococci than MGH2, although this effect was statistically significant only at the higher bacterial concentration (P < 0.01). For Pseudomonas spp., MGH1 had significantly higher antimicrobial activity (both MIC and MBC) than MGH2 against all isolates tested and at both bacterial concentrations (P < 0.05).
Conclusions and clinical importance
Both MGHs were effective in vitro against common cutaneous pathogens including meticillin‐resistant staphylococci and Pseudomonas species. The higher efficacy of the MGH1 formulation against Pseudomonas and its consistent effects against staphylococci, while containing only half of the amount of honey compared to MGH2, invites further investigation of the mechanisms and clinical applications of MGH1.
... We demonstrate that the honeys are active in both the prevention and eradication of P. aeruginosa biofilms, and that MGO is not the major driver of anti-biofilm activity of the manuka-type honeys. While the sugar solution (control) was demonstrated to be similarly effective in biofilm prevention and eradication, this does not negate the use of honey over sugar solutions in clinical practice as sugar alone is not as effective at similar concentrations to honey against other common wound pathogens 30,38,[42][43][44][45][46] . This study also emphasises the importance of using well-characterised honeys in order to understand the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity and to choose the most appropriate honey for treating infected wounds. ...
Chronic wound treatment is becoming increasingly difficult and costly, further exacerbated when wounds become infected. Bacterial biofilms cause most chronic wound infections and are notoriously resistant to antibiotic treatments. The need for new approaches to combat polymicrobial biofilms in chronic wounds combined with the growing antimicrobial resistance crisis means that honey is being revisited as a treatment option due to its broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and low propensity for bacterial resistance. We assessed four well-characterised New Zealand honeys, quantified for their key antibacterial components, methylglyoxal, hydrogen peroxide and sugar, for their capacity to prevent and eradicate biofilms produced by the common wound pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We demonstrate that: (1) honey used at substantially lower concentrations compared to those found in honey-based wound dressings inhibited P. aeruginosa biofilm formation and significantly reduced established biofilms; (2) the anti-biofilm effect of honey was largely driven by its sugar component; (3) cells recovered from biofilms treated with sub-inhibitory honey concentrations had slightly increased tolerance to honey; and (4) honey used at clinically obtainable concentrations completely eradicated established P. aeruginosa biofilms. These results, together with their broad antimicrobial spectrum, demonstrate that manuka honey-based wound dressings are a promising treatment for infected chronic wounds, including those with P. aeruginosa biofilms.
... Many studies have compared the antimicrobial activity of manuka honey with other natural honey, and it is evident that manuka honey is not superior. In contrast, the antibacterial properties of the diverse honey types produced worldwide have been reported to be similar or superior compared to manuka honey and they may have distinct advantages over manuka honey (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013;Mandal & Mandal, 2011;Stagos et al., 2018). Despite these findings, many of the products available worldwide are based on 80% to 100% manuka honey solutions (Table 3). ...
Honey has been used since ancient times for the treatment of wounds. The discovery of antibiotics made its use less appealing, but the development of antibiotic resistance has again increased the interest in honey for its antibacterial properties. However, attention must be paid to the quality of the honey used for medical application. Honey may contain toxic compounds when plants in honey harvesting areas are treated with herbicides and pesticides or are polluted with industrial heavy metals, antibiotics, or exposed to environmental pollution. Moreover, bacterial contamination of honey with, for example, Clostridium endospores has long been disregarded. Honey directly obtained from the beekeeper or from the store may not therefore be suitable and it may even be dangerous for use or for wound healing, as there is no guarantee that it is safe, or it may not be effective because of inappropriate sterilization methods. Therefore, there is a need for a clear definition of ‘medical grade honey’ (MGH), to guarantee its safety and efficacy for therapeutic uses. Due to the current lack of strict guidelines to achieve standardized MGH formulations, this article poses clear standards and criteria, including those related to the collection, possible contamination, sterilization, production, storage, physicochemical, legal and safety issues to which MGH should adhere to distinguish itself from regular honey. We discuss current honey-based wound care products and whether they adhere to the standards of MGH. The presented guidelines should result in safe MGH formulations that are effective for wound healing.
... Bees prepare and use propolis as a sealing material to protect against the entry of microorganisms (fungi and bacteria) into the hive, and create the most sterile environment known in nature (Al-Waili et al., 2012). The main pharmacological activities of propolis are related to the flavonoids and phenolic compounds-the major bioactive constituents of propolis (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013;Banskota et al., 2000). The properties of the propolis flavonoids to reduce the formation or to remove free radicals allow effective regeneration of damaged tissue and the antimicrobial properties of propolis prevent composition of raw propolis may vary, depending on geographical and seasonal factors, because it depends on the flora of the areas from which it is collected (El-Guendouz et al., 2019). ...
This study examined the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, overall acceptability (OA), including influence of the product-induced emotions, and biogenic amine (BA) content in fourteen honey (H1–14), four propolis (P15–18) and four bee bread (BB19–22) samples, collected in northwest Lithuania. The all tested bacteria were inhibited by summer honey H13. P18 inhibited 10, while bee breads inhibited 10–11 out of the 15 tested bacteria strains. All propolis-samples inhibited B.cereus and P.multocida. The highest antioxidant activity and content of total phenolic compounds (TPC) were found in bee bread (93% and 394 mg GAE/100 g, respectively). The TPC had moderate and strong negative correlations with the L* (r = −0.58) and b* colour coordinates (r = −0.66), respectively. The each bee products group (BPs) induced different intensities of emotions, and the OA showed a moderate positive correlation with the “neutral” emotion (r = 0.47). A low content of BAs (<15 mg/kg) was identified in six honeys, two bee breads and one propolis sample. In sum, Lithuanian bee products possessed valuable biological attributes that can be beneficially used in food industry and medicine, although further research is needed for the factors, which may contribute to bioactive properties of this region bee products and BAs formation.
... Consisting mainly of carbohydrates, honey also contains several enzymes, proteins, aminoacids, vitamins, lipids, minerals, and phytochemicals which vary considerably by type of honey and are believed to exert health benefits [1,2]. The antibacterial activity of honey has been attributed to different factors, including hydrogen peroxide, low pH, high osmolarity, and methylglyoxal (MGO) [3][4][5][6]. Among the different types of honey, manuka honey has attracted attention for its antimicrobial effects in numerous bacterial pathogens [7] receiving regulatory approvals for clinical use as a wound care agent in the European Union, the USA, New Zealand and others. ...
... Entre sus compuestos con actividad biológica se reportan los fenólicos, los ácidos orgánicos, los aminoácidos y las proteínas (Baltrušaitytė, Venskutonis & Čeksterytė, 2007). La composición de la miel está estrechamente relacionada con la especie de abeja que la produce y el origen geográfico y floral, lo que genera variedad de olores, sabores, colores, así como propiedades funcionales y terapéuticas, entre las que se encuentran las antimicrobianas, antifúngicas y antivirales (Kujumgiev et al., 1999;Viuda-Martos, Ruiz-Navajas, Fernández-López & Pérez-Álvarez, 2008;Silici, Sagdic & Ekici, 2010;Alzahrani et al., 2012;Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013). ...
La miel es un producto alimenticio con alto valor nutricional y potencial farmacológico. La mayoría de los estudios de este producto se han centrado en las propiedades de la miel producida por Apis mellifera, que se ha utilizado en medicina alternativa, destacando por sus actividades antioxidantes, antimicrobianas y antiinflamatorias, entre otras. En este trabajo, se identificó el origen floral, la concentración de proteína soluble, los compuestos fenólicos y la actividad antioxidante y quelante de metales de las mieles producidas por Melipona beecheii y Frieseomelitta nigra,originarias de San Marcos, comunidad de Tenosique en Tabasco, México. Los resultados muestran que la miel producida por F. nigra es de origen polifloral derivada principalmente de la especie Piper sp., aff. Brosimum, Asteraceae, Ziziphus sp., Haematoxylum campechianum, mientras que la producida por M. beecheii fue monofloral (Eugenia sp.). La miel de F. nigra presentó mayor concentración de compuestos fenólicos y mayor efectividad para atrapar los radicales superóxido y DPPH, además de un mejor potencial de quelación del cobre. Por su parte, la miel de M. beecheii presentó mayor capacidad de captación de los radicales ABTS y quelación del hierro; mientras que la capacidad de absorción del radical hidroxilo fue similar para ambas mieles. Este trabajo resalta la importancia de contar con análisis palinológicos y bioquímicos sobre las mieles de las abejas nativas sin aguijón por el potencial terapéutico que tienen y de las cuales, en el caso de algunas especies, no se tiene información.
... Entre sus compuestos con actividad biológica se reportan los fenólicos, los ácidos orgánicos, los aminoácidos y las proteínas (Baltrušaitytė, Venskutonis & Čeksterytė, 2007). La composición de la miel está estrechamente relacionada con la especie de abeja que la produce y el origen geográfico y floral, lo que genera variedad de olores, sabores, colores, así como propiedades funcionales y terapéuticas, entre las que se encuentran las antimicrobianas, antifúngicas y antivirales (Kujumgiev et al., 1999;Viuda-Martos, Ruiz-Navajas, Fernández-López & Pérez-Álvarez, 2008;Silici, Sagdic & Ekici, 2010;Alzahrani et al., 2012;Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013). ...
La miel es un producto alimenticio con alto valor nutricional y potencial farmacológico. La mayoría de los estudios de este producto se han centrado en las propiedades de la miel producida por Apis mellifera, que se ha utilizado en medicina alternativa, destacando por sus actividades antioxidantes, antimicrobianas y antiinflamatorias, entre otras. En este trabajo, se identificó el origen floral, la concentración de proteína soluble, los compuestos fenólicos y la actividad antioxidante y quelante de metales de las mieles producidas por Melipona beecheii y Frieseomelitta nigra,originarias de San Marcos, comunidad de Tenosique en Tabasco, México. Los resultados muestran que la miel producida por F. nigra es de origen polifloral derivada principalmente de la especie Piper sp., Aff. Brosimum, Asteraceae, Ziziphus sp., Haematoxylum campechianum, mientras que la producida por M. beecheii fue monofloral (Eugenia sp.). La miel de F. nigra presentó mayor concentración de compuestos fenólicos y mayor efectividad para atrapar los radicales superóxido y DPPH, además de un mejor potencial de quelación del cobre. Por su parte, la miel de M. beecheii presentó mayor capacidad de captación de los radicales ABTS y quelación del hierro; mientras que la capacidad de absorción del radical hidroxilo fue similar para ambas mieles. Este trabajo resalta la importancia de contar con análisis palinológicos y bioquímicos sobre las mieles de las abejas nativas sin aguijón por el potencial terapéutico que tienen y de las cuales, en el caso de algunas especies, no se tiene información. Palabras Clave: miel, Mellipona beecheii, Frieseomelitta nigra, compuestos fenólicos, antioxidantes, actividad quelante, origen floral. Antioxidant and metal chelating activities of honeys of Melipona beecheii and Frieseomelitta nigra from Tabasco, México Abstract Honey is a food product with high nutritional and pharmacological value. Most studies of this product have focused on studying the properties of honey produced by Apis mellifera, which has been used in alternative medicine, highlighting the antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities, among others. In this work, we identified the floral origin, the concentration of soluble protein and phenolic compounds, and we assessed the antioxidant and chelating activity of the honey produced by Melipona beecheii and Frieseomelitta nigra from the community of San Marcos in Tenosique, Tabasco, México. The results show that the honey produced by M. beecheii was of monofloral origin (Eugenia sp.); while that of F. nigra is of polyfloral origin, derived mainly from the species Piper sp., Aff. Brosimum, Asteraceae, Ziziphus sp., Haematoxylum campechianum). Honey produced by F. nigra show higher concentration of phenolic compounds, it is more effective in entrapping the DPPH and superoxide radicals, and exhibits better copper chelating potential. The honey of M. beecheii has a higher capacity for uptake of ABTS radicals and chelation of iron. The uptake capacity of the hydroxyl radical was similar for both honeys. This work highlights the importance of having palynological and biochemical analyzes on the honeys of native stingless bees, because of their therapeutic potential, where for many species there is a lack of information.
... In many investigations, the therapeutic effect of honey has been proven to improve or prevent diseases' progression (in humans and animals), in which some of them are recorded as follows: antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral (Anthimidou & Mossialos, 2013;Candiracci et al., 2011;León-Ruiz et al., 2013), antioxidant (Alves, Ramos, Gonçalves, Bernardo, & Mendes, 2013;Nayik & Nanda, 2016), radioprotective (Ahmad et al., 2013), prebiotic, and probiotic (Ammar, Ismail, Khalil, & Eid, 2015;Bakr, Mohamed, Tammam, & El-Gazzar, 2015), (Khalil, Tanvir, Afroz, Sulaiman, & Gan, 2015), and antitumor (Ahmed & Othman, 2013;Erejuwa, Sulaiman, & Wahab, 2014). ...
Gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a nonprotein amino acid with tremendous medicinal properties in the treatment and control of many diseases, which has been used recently as a supplement to foods and beverages. Considering the beneficial therapeutic and healing properties of GABA for the human body, consuming a beverage that contains GABA, can fulfill the body's essential need for it. The desired aim of this work is to produce GABA‐enriched honey syrup using Lactobacillus sp. Makhdzir Naser‐1 (GQ451633). The key factors affecting GABA production were considered as temperature, pH, glutamic acid concentration, and time. Utilizing the design of experiments (RSM), the optimum operating conditions were gained as: 37.11°C, pH = 5.26, 506.99 (mM) of Glutamic acid and 53 hr for time. The maximum produced GABA was 4.3 mM. Furthermore, the results accurately showed that after 7 days, by reducing the concentration of microorganisms, the amount of GABA was decreased.
Practical applications
During the last few decades, the food industry trend toward the production of organic and probiotic fortified food increase. GABA is one of these probiotic substances that can be produced by the Lactobacillus bacteria. Some of the beneficial effects of GABA on the body are: increases the serotonin production in the body so enhances the relaxation, strengthens the immune system, regulates blood pressure, and positively affects the growth hormone. The purpose of this study is to produce a GABA‐enriched honey beverage. Daily drinking of this food product, in addition to supplying energy, provides the body and digestive system requirements to the valuable compounds of GABA and honey.
... Honey from stingless bees has a distinct taste and aroma, is more fluid in texture, and has low crystallization. Stingless bee honey has variable and broad-spectrum activities against many different kinds of wound and enteric bacteria (Anthimidou and Mossialos, 2013;Ramalivhana et al., 2014).The removal of exudate after wounds dressing with honey was increasing healing process in inflamed wounds (Ahmed et al., 2003). Honey is hygroscopic, which enables dehydrating bacteria by decreasing the moisture of the environment. ...
This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of Trigona honey against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes. The antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities were examined by agar well diffusion assays, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), time-kill curve, biofilm formation in 96-well plates and scanning electron microscope. Larger zones of inhibition were recorded from the agar well diffusion method. Trigona honey samples showed clear zones of inhibitions against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes, 25.2±0.6mm and 26.7±1.0mm respectively. Trigona honey possessed the lowest MIC value against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes was 20% (w/v) and MBC was 25% (w/v). Also, MIC50 was between 10%-12.5% (w/v) and MIC90 was between 20%-25% (w/v) concentration of honey for both bacteria. In time-kill curve Trigona honey inhibited P.aeruginosa and S. pyogenes in a 3 log10 at 18 hours, and total viable counts (TVCs) were killed after 24 hours at honey concentration of 25%. In biofilm degradation assay Trigona honey degraded 70% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 68% of Streptococcus pyogenes biofilm. Also in biofilm inhibition assay Trigona honey inhibited 91% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 89% of Streptococcus pyogenes biofilms. Scanning electron microscope images of P.aeruginosa and S.pyogenes shown that Trigona honey changed shape, size of cells, destroyed cell wall integrity and lysed the cells in both bacteria. Scanning electron microscopeimages for biofilm of P. aeruginosa and S. pyogenes shown that Trigona honey decreased cell density and cells appeared curved of P. aeruginosa and cell appeared rough, holes and crevices of S. pyogenes, totally Trigona honey disrupted and damaged biofilm formation. This study demonstrates that Trigona honey has high antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against both bacteria in vitro and showed the efficacy of honey against biofilm in different degrees of potential effect. The study support previous finding that Trigona honey can be used as an alternative medicine for various bacterial infections.
A plethora of studies provide evidence on honey biological properties such as antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. However, antifungal activity exerted by honey is rather under investigated. Due to widespread antimicrobial resistance, the emergence of novel antifungal agents, as well as the identification of alternative therapies, is crucial. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal activity exerted by heather and chestnut honeys, harvested across Greece, as well as the antifungal activity of bacteria isolated from them, against Penicillium commune, Penicillium expansum, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans M10/20 and Candida albicans M 351/19. Fungistatic activity against all tested fungi and fungicidal activity against C. albicans strains was exerted by most Greek honeys. Exerted antifungal activity was comparable to Manuka honey. Furthermore, most of the identified bacterial isolates inhibited the growth of fungal strains, in antagonistic assays. This study for the first time demonstrated the significant antifungal activity exerted by heather and chestnut honeys produced in Greece, as well as the important role of their microbiome in observed antifungal activity. Nevertheless, our results warrant further research in order to develop novel antifungal agents and alternative therapies.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa can colonize the body when wounds disrupt the skin barrier, compromising immune status, and expressing virulence factors that aid its establishment in the host. Honey is highly medicinal and capable of promoting healing in infected wounds that defy conventional antibiotic therapy. This study assessed the antibacterial activities of honey against multi-drug resistant virulent P. aeruginosa isolates recovered from wounds. Sixty-one P. aeruginosa isolates were recovered, and their virulence factors were determined using phenotypic screening methods. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was evaluated with the Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion method, while the antibacterial activities of honey were determined by agar-well and disc-diffusion techniques. The components of the honey samples were evaluated using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). All isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR) with 100% resistance to ticarcillin, tigecycline, and nitrofurantoin; the highest susceptibility to piperacillin, meropenem, and imipenem at 4.9%, 6.6%, and 9.8% respectively; and Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Indices (MARI) of ≥ 0.2. All isolates produced hemolysin but none produced DNase. All the sixty-one isolates extruded multiple virulence factors via phenotypic screening and 96.7% possessed ≥ 50% of virulence determinants analyzed. GC-MS analyses revealed three variants of honey. The isolates exhibited resistance to the honey samples; the most effective honey sample types being H5 and H6. Possession of multiple virulence factors, multi-resistance to antibiotics, and to honey, which is well acclaimed for its wound healing characteristics by isolates raises the probability of invasion to deeper tissues and development of complications, underscoring the necessity to prevent contamination of wounds, a significant cause of morbidity and mortality.
Objective: The aim of the study was to characterize varieties of Moringa alfileria honey (unfloral and polyfloral) from Saudi Arabia based on antibacterial, antioxidant activities, physicochemical, melissopalynological analysis, total phenolic and flavonoid contents. Material and Methods: The fresh 376 honey samples (3 kg of each) were kindly provided by Alnahal aljwal Company, 2021 flowering season. The honey samples collected in sterile universal glass containers and kept at 2– 8°C until tested. Antibacterial, antioxidant activities and physiochemical analysis were done. Determination of sediment content, total grains, moisture content, water-soluble solids, acidity, electrical conductivity, total sugars content, inverted sugars, glucose (g/100 g), fructose (g/100 g), total glucose + fructose, fructose/ glucose ratio, sucrose (g/100 g), diastase enzyme activity and HMF were calculated. As well as total phenolic and flavonoid contents Results: Antibacterial activity and physiochemical analysis of honey samples w varied. All parameters studied were significantly different (P < 0.05) among all honey varieties. The results of the physiochemical analysis were compared with Saudi National Standard, Codex standard, as well as published data in the literature. Conclusion: It was obvious that the honey quality was varied based on the botanical origins
The aim of this study was to investigate the melissopalynology, physicochemical characteristics, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of seven honey samples harvested from different geographical regions and climates of Romania. The melissopalynological analysis revealed that monofloral and multifloral samples contained a wide diversity of minor pollen types from Romanian flora. The moisture, pH and free acidity values were within international limit. HPLC analysis indicated high content of fructose and glucose and low content of sucrose. Bioactive compounds including proteins, phenolics, flavonoids and ascorbic acid were present in variable quantities, according to the botanical origin and geographical area. The highest phenolics and ascorbic acid content was in multifloral honeys from Crisana mountain and meadow and the extrafloral honeydew honey. The same honey samples have exerted free radical scavenging and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The free radical scavenging activity was strongly correlated to phenolics and ascorbic acid content, while the antimicrobial activity was medium correlated only to phenolics content. In conclusion, the selected Romanian honey samples with best antioxidant and antimicrobial activity could be further tested for the development of novel biomedical products.
Honey is a complex and variable mixture that contains more than 180 biochemical compounds from various molecule families. This mixture is achieved after processing the nectar out of plant food sources at the level of the bees’ abdomen. The bioactive components found in this natural product are in charge of its antimicrobial properties. Honey is used for its antibacterial actions over Gram+ and Gram-; their anti-fungal and antimycotic actions against melds and yeasts, along with its protozoal and antiviral activities. This literature review outlines its naturally antimicrobial potential of honey; explains the factors responsible for this potential; and spell out their mechanisms of action. Osmotic pressure, water activity, acid content of honey, presence of bioactive compounds like: hydrogen peroxide, phenolic acids, flavonoids, the MGO, defensin-1, lysozyme, volatile compounds as well as antibacterial products secreted from the lactic bacteria that are behind this antimicrobial activity. This potential basically depends on the biological activities of the initially harvested floral source, its geographical origin, the season, the storage conditions, the honey age, the health of bees’ colonies and the suitable beekeeping practices.
The paper presents information concerning the beneficial and harmful effects of honey on human health. Selected therapeutic properties and components responsible for the antibiotic activity of honey are discussed, along with the impact of different factors and technological treatments on these properties. This paper also presents methods applied in the analyses of antioxidant and antibacterial properties of bee products. The purpose of the following study is to present a review of the health properties of honey and the effect of various factors on these properties. Honey is a valuable product because of its nutritional and health properties. It should be noted, however, that individual botanical varieties of honey exhibit different levels of nutritional and health properties, including antibacterial properties.
Background: Ethiopia is one of the plant species-rich countries in the world and the center of origin of many medicinal plants. Studying antimicrobial activities is vital to investigate plants resources for medicinal values and the study was conducted to identify and evaluate Croton macrostachyus honey’s antimicrobial sources from its nectar and pollen against mentioned bacteria.
Methods: Completely Randomised Design was used for the laboratory. After adjusting turbidity, consistent growth of bacterial culture was made using sterilized cotton. The extract of C. macrostachyus’ pollen 3.6 gm. was added to 12 ml of distilled water to prepare stock solutions as 3.6:12 = 0.3 x B = 3 x a ppm stock solution and antimicrobial activities of pollen, nectar, and honey were tested against mentioned bacteria above. Data were inserted into Microsoft excel 2010 and imported to R software version 3.44. Multilevel analysis was used to see the interaction between bacteria species and each concentration of honey, nectar, and pollen of Croton and Anova was used to see the significance of these concentrations on bacteria species. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Results indicated that bacteria were more inhibited at 72 hours than 48 and 24 hours and the result identified honey’s antimicrobial source was due to pollen composition found in honey that only pollen had antimicrobial activities while nectar had no antimicrobial activities against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria mentioned above. Time has significant effects on tested bacteria (p = 0.000) and treatments have significant effects on tested organisms (p = 0.000). Honey inhibited the growth of more Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli and Shigella boydii. Bacillus was mostly inhibited by crotons’ pollen than others.
Conclusions: Water extract of Crotons ‘pollen had antibacterial activities against all tested bacterial strains, but inhibited more Gram-positive bacteria; while Crotons’honey inhibited more Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria. Negative controls (sterilized water) and nectar did not show an inhibitory effect on tested bacteria, while positive control (Chloramphenicol) had antimicrobial activities. Further isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds from Croton macrostachyus pollen are useful to develop a novel botanical formulation for further applications.
Honey is an important animal product that is consumed by people of all ages and has become an important antimicrobial agent because it has both antibacterial properties and does not cause microbial resistance. Although, Turkey is among the most important honey producers of the world, there are not enough studies about the antibacterial activity of Turkish honey. According to their geographical area, honey exhibit considerable and variable antimicrobial activity. In this study, we investigated the in vitro antibacterial effect of honey obtained from Turkey, against Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus by using agar dilution, agar well diffusion and disc diffusion methods and compared the efficacy of these methods. Results showed the antibacterial effects of Turkish honey, collected from different regions against selected pathogens. Different concentrations of all honey samples displayed an antibacterial activity. Each microorganism exhibited different sensitivity to the honey tested. In addition, a significant difference was detected between the three methods for each microorganism and well diffusion method was found to be the most sensitive method
Bal, besleyici özelliği yüksek, biyoaktif bileşence zengin fonksiyonel bir gıdadır. Balın biyolojik aktivitesinin botanik orijin, coğrafya ve iklim özelliklerine göre farklılık göstermesi, ülkemizde üretilen monofloral ve multifloral balların kapsamlı olarak ele alınmasını gerekli kılmaktadır. Doğal koruyucuların sentetik ürünlerle yer değiştirme anlayışının benimsenmesi, balın alternatif kullanım olanaklarının araştırılmasını sağlamaktadır. Bu amaçla, çalışmamızda lavanta, limon çiçeği, kekik ve multifloral balların antimikrobiyal aktivitesi belirlenmiş ve antimikrobiyal etkinlikleri karşılaştırılmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre, genel olarak multifloral balın monofloral ballardan daha yüksek antimikrobiyal aktiviteye sahip olduğu, monofloral ballardan limon çiçeği balının test edilen mikroorganizmalara karşı güçlü inhibisyon gösterdiği, kekik balının ise en zayıf antibakteriyel etkiye sahip olduğu saptanmıştır. Tüm bal çeşitlerinde antimikrobiyal aktivitenin (Bacillus cereus DSM 4312 hariç) sırasıyla bakteri > maya> küf olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte, istatistiksel olarak en dirençli bakterinin B. cereus DSM 4312, en duyarlı bakterilerin ise Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 700603 ve Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 35032 olduğunu söylemek mümkündür.
Chronic wound infections and antibiotic resistance are driving interest in antimicrobial treatments that have generally been considered complementary, including antimicrobially active honey. Australia has unique native flora and produces honey with a wide range of different physicochemical properties. In this study we surveyed 477 honey samples, derived from native and exotic plants from various regions of Australia, for their antibacterial activity using an established screening protocol. A level of activity considered potentially therapeutically useful was found in 274 (57%) of the honey samples, with exceptional activity seen in samples derived from marri (Corymbia calophylla), jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) and jellybush (Leptospermum polygalifolium). In most cases the antibacterial activity was attributable to hydrogen peroxide produced by the bee-derived enzyme glucose oxidase. Non-hydrogen peroxide activity was detected in 80 (16.8%) samples, and was most consistently seen in honey produced from Leptospermum spp. Testing over time found the hydrogen peroxide-dependent activity in honey decreased, in some cases by 100%, and this activity was more stable at 4 °C than at 25 °C. In contrast, the non-hydrogen peroxide activity of Leptospermum honey samples increased, and this was greatest in samples stored at 25 °C. The stability of non-peroxide activity from other honeys was more variable, suggesting this activity may have a different cause. We conclude that many Australian honeys have clinical potential, and that further studies into the composition and stability of their active constituents are warranted.
Honey is increasingly valued for its antibacterial activity, but knowledge regarding the mechanism of action is still incomplete. We assessed the bactericidal activity and mechanism of action of Revamil® source (RS) honey and manuka honey, the sources of two major medical-grade honeys. RS honey killed Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa within 2 hours, whereas manuka honey had such rapid activity only against B. subtilis. After 24 hours of incubation, both honeys killed all tested bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, but manuka honey retained activity up to higher dilutions than RS honey. Bee defensin-1 and H₂O₂ were the major factors involved in rapid bactericidal activity of RS honey. These factors were absent in manuka honey, but this honey contained 44-fold higher concentrations of methylglyoxal than RS honey. Methylglyoxal was a major bactericidal factor in manuka honey, but after neutralization of this compound manuka honey retained bactericidal activity due to several unknown factors. RS and manuka honey have highly distinct compositions of bactericidal factors, resulting in large differences in bactericidal activity.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of manuka honey on the structural integrity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of manuka honey for P. aeruginosa were determined by a microtitre plate method, and the survival of bacteria exposed to a bactericidal concentration of manuka honey was monitored. The effect of manuka honey on the structure of the bacteria was investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM, respectively). The MIC and MBC values of manuka honey against P. aeruginosa were 9.5% (w/v) and 12% (w/v) respectively; a time-kill curve demonstrated a bactericidal rather than a bacteriostatic effect, with a 5 log reduction estimated within 257 min. Using SEM, loss of structural integrity and marked changes in cell shape and surface were observed in honey-treated cultures. With TEM, these changes were confirmed, and evidence of extensive cell disruption and lysis was found. Manuka honey does not induce the same structural changes in P. aeruginosa as those observed in staphylococci. Our results indicate that manuka honey has the potential to be an effective inhibitor of P. aeruginosa.
Honey has previously been shown to have wound healing and antimicrobial properties, but this is dependent on the type of honey, geographical location and flower from which the final product is derived. We tested the antimicrobial activity of a Chilean honey made by Apis mellifera (honeybee) originating from the Ulmo tree (Eucryphia cordifolia), against selected strains of bacteria.
Ulmo 90 honey was compared with manuka UMF 25+ (Comvita) honey and a laboratory synthesised (artificial) honey. An agar well diffusion assay and a 96 well minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) spectrophotometric-based assay were used to assess antimicrobial activity against five strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Initial screening with the agar diffusion assay demonstrated that Ulmo 90 honey had greater antibacterial activity against all MRSA isolates tested than manuka honey and similar activity against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. The MIC assay, showed that a lower MIC was observed with Ulmo 90 honey (3.1% - 6.3% v/v) than with manuka honey (12.5% v/v) for all five MRSA isolates. For the E. coli and Pseudomonas strains equivalent MICs were observed (12.5% v/v). The MIC for artificial honey was 50% v/v. The minimum bactericidal concentration for all isolates tested for Ulmo 90 honey was identical to the MIC. Unlike manuka honey, Ulmo 90 honey activity is largely due to hydrogen peroxide production.
Due to its high antimicrobial activity, Ulmo 90 may warrant further investigation as a possible alternative therapy for wound healing.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of manuka honey on Staphylococcus aureus in order to identify the intracellular target site. The mode of inhibition of manuka honey against S. aureus NCTC 10017 was investigated by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and the effect of time on viability. Structural changes were observed by scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of cells suspended for 4 h at 37 degrees C in 0.05 mM Tris buffer containing 10% (w/v) manuka honey and were compared to cells in buffer alone or buffer containing 10% (w/v) artificial honey (to assess osmotic damage). A bactericidal mode of inhibition for manuka honey on S. aureus was established. Marked structural changes in honey-treated cells were seen only with TEM, where a statistically significant increase in the number of whole cells with completed septa compared to untreated cells were observed (P < 0.05). Structural changes found with TEM suggest that honey-treated cells had failed to progress normally through the cell cycle and accumulated with fully formed septa at the point of cell division without separating. Sugars were not implicated in this effect. The staphylococcal target site of manuka honey involves the cell division machinery.
Antibiotic resistance of bacteria is on the rise, thus the discovery of alternative therapeutic agents is urgently needed. Honey possesses therapeutic potential, including wound healing properties and antimicrobial activity. Although the antimicrobial activity of honey has been effectively established against an extensive spectrum of microorganisms, it differs depending on the type of honey. To date, no extensive studies of the antibacterial properties of tualang (Koompassia excelsa) honey on wound and enteric microorganisms have been conducted. The objectives of this study were to conduct such studies and to compare the antibacterial activity of tualang honey with that of manuka honey.
Using a broth dilution method, the antibacterial activity of tualang honey against 13 wound and enteric microorganisms was determined; manuka honey was used as the control. Different concentrations of honey [6.25-25% (w/v)] were tested against each type of microorganism. Briefly, two-fold dilutions of honey solutions were tested to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against each type of microorganism, followed by more assays within a narrower dilution range to obtain more precise MIC values. MICs were determined by both visual inspection and spectrophotometric assay at 620 nm. Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) also was determined by culturing on blood agar plates.
By visual inspection, the MICs of tualang honey ranged from 8.75% to 25% compared to manuka honey (8.75-20%). Spectrophotometric readings of at least 95% inhibition yielded MIC values ranging between 10% and 25% for both types of honey. The lowest MBC for tualang honey was 20%, whereas that for manuka honey was 11.25% for the microorganisms tested. The lowest MIC value (8.75%) for both types of honey was against Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Tualang honey had a lower MIC (11.25%) against Acinetobacter baumannii compared to manuka honey (12.5%).
Tualang honey exhibited variable activities against different microorganisms, but they were within the same range as those for manuka honey. This result suggests that tualang honey could potentially be used as an alternative therapeutic agent against certain microorganisms, particularly A. baumannii and S. maltophilia.
There is an urgent need for new, effective agents in topical wound care, and selected honeys show potential in this regard. Using a medical-grade honey, eight species of problematic wound pathogens, including those with high levels of innate or acquired antibiotic resistance, were killed by 4.0-14.8% honey, which is a concentration that can be maintained in the wound environment. Resistance to honey could not be induced under conditions that rapidly induced resistance to antibiotics. Escherichia coli macroarrays were used to determine the response of bacterial cells to a sub-lethal dose of honey. The pattern of gene expression differed to that reported for other antimicrobial agents, indicating that honey acts in a unique and multifactorial way; 78 (2%) genes were upregulated and 46 (1%) genes were downregulated more than two-fold upon exposure to the medical-grade honey. Most of the upregulated genes clustered into distinct functional regulatory groups, with many involved in stress responses, and the majority of downregulated genes encoded for products involved in protein synthesis. Taken together, these data indicate that honey is an effective topical antimicrobial agent that could help reduce some of the current pressures that are promoting antibiotic resistance.
Because there is no ideal therapy for burns infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, there is sufficient need to investigate the efficacy of alternative antipseudomonal interventions. Honey is an ancient wound remedy for which there is modern evidence of efficacy in the treatment of burn wounds, but limited evidence for the effectiveness of its antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas. We tested the sensitivity of 17 strains of P. aeruginosa isolated from infected burns to two honeys with different types of antibacterial activity, a pasture honey and a manuka honey, both with median levels of activity. All strains showed similar sensitivity to honey with minimum inhibitory concentrations below 10% (vol/vol); both honeys maintained bactericidal activity when diluted more than 10-fold. Honey with proven antibacterial activity has the potential to be an effective treatment option for burns infected or at risk of infection with P. aeruginosa.
In this study the activity of 13 honeys, including three commercial antibacterial honeys, against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was determined. Antibacterial activity of the honeys was assayed using standard well diffusion methods. All honeys, and an artificial honey, were tested at four concentrations (10%, 5%, 2.5%, and 1% wt/vol) against E. coli and P. aeruginosa, and zones of inhibition were measured. All honeys tested had an inhibitory effect on the growth of E. coli and P. aeruginosa, with one honey still having activity against E. coli and three having activity against P. aeruginosa at 2.5%. No honey was active at 1% concentrations. E. coli was more susceptible to inhibition by the honeys used in this study than was P. aeruginosa. In this study we have demonstrated that several honeys, in addition to commercial antibacterial honeys, can inhibit E. coli and P. aeruginosa and may have potential as therapeutic honeys.
With the rise in prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, honey is increasingly valued for its antibacterial activity. To characterize all bactericidal factors in a medical-grade honey, we used a novel approach of successive neutralization of individual honey bactericidal factors. All bacteria tested, including Bacillus subtilis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Escherichia coli, ciprofloxacin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, were killed by 10-20% (v/v) honey, whereas > or = 40% (v/v) of a honey-equivalent sugar solution was required for similar activity. Honey accumulated up to 5.62 +/- 0.54 mM H(2)O(2) and contained 0.25 +/- 0.01 mM methylglyoxal (MGO). After enzymatic neutralization of these two compounds, honey retained substantial activity. Using B. subtilis for activity-guided isolation of the additional antimicrobial factors, we discovered bee defensin-1 in honey. After combined neutralization of H(2)O(2), MGO, and bee defensin-1, 20% honey had only minimal activity left, and subsequent adjustment of the pH of this honey from 3.3 to 7.0 reduced the activity to that of sugar alone. Activity against all other bacteria tested depended on sugar, H(2)O(2), MGO, and bee defensin-1. Thus, we fully characterized the antibacterial activity of medical-grade honey.
Honey has been used as a medicine since ancient times in many cultures and is still used in ‘folk medicine’. The use of honey as a therapeutic substance has been rediscovered by the medical profession in more recent times, and it is gaining acceptance as an antibacterial agent for the treatment of ulcers and bed sores, and other infections resulting from burns and wounds. In many of the cases in the cited reports, honey was used on infections not responding to standard effective in rapidly clearing up infection and promoting healing. Honey has also been found to be effective in treating bacterial gastoentertis in infants. This is the published version of an article published in the journal: Bee World. Used with permission.
The aim of this study was to determine the spectrum of antimicrobial activity of 11 samples of stingless bee honey compared to medicinal, table and artificial honeys.
Activity was assessed by agar diffusion, agar dilution, broth microdilution and time-kill viability assays. By agar dilution, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranges were 4% to >10% (w/v) for Gram-positive bacteria, 6% to >16% (w/v) for Gram-negative bacteria and 6% to >10% (w/v) for Candida spp. By broth microdilution, all organisms with the exception of Candida albicans and Candida glabrata were inhibited at <or=32% (w/v). Geometric MIC (w/v) means for stingless bee honeys ranged from 7.1% to 16.0% and were 11.7% for medicinal honey and 26.5% for table honey. Treatment of organisms with 20% (w/v) stingless bee honey for 60 min resulted in decreases of 1-3 log for Staphylococcus aureus, >3 log for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and <1 log for C. albicans. Similar treatment with each control honey resulted in decreases of <1 log for all organisms.
Stingless bee honey has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity although activity against Candida was limited. Stingless bee honey samples varied in activity and the basis for this remains to be determined.
Stingless bee honey had similar activity to medicinal honey and may therefore have a role as a medicinal agent.
Twenty strains of Burkholderia cepacia, isolated principally from the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients, were tested for their susceptibility to eight antibiotics with a modified Kirby-Bauer Disc diffusion technique. All strains exhibited multiple but not identical patterns of antibiotic resistance. The sensitivity of all strains to honey was assessed with an agar dilution method. All strains exhibited susceptibility to concentrations of honey below 6% (v/v). This suggests that honey may have a potential role in the clinical management of B. cepacia infections.
Ethanolic and aqueous (cold and hot) extracts of Landolphia owerrience root parts (whole-root, root-bark and root-wood) were tested for activity against ten bacterial strains using agar-well diffusion and macro-broth dilution methods, respectively. The ethanolic extracts of the whole-root and root-wood were active against 100 and 80% of the test organisms, respectively. Ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the root-bark were moderately active while the aqueous (cold and hot) extracts of the root-wood exhibited little or no activity. Out of the nine extracts prepared, 66.7% were active against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12600, 55.6% variously against each of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 10145 and local clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi, 44.4% against Proteus sp., 33.3% against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051 and 22.2% against E. coli ATCC 11775. The agar-well-determined MIC values for the ethanolic whole-root extract (0.78-50 mg/ml) were higher (indicating lower activity) than the corresponding macro-broth-determined values (0.39-50 mg/ml) probably because of slow diffusion rates of the active constituents of the extract in agar. On the other hand, the differences could be due to the effects of DMSO used to dissolve the ethanolic extracts in the agar-well diffusion tests. Similar discrepancies in the MIC values detectable with the two test methods were apparent in the root-wood extract and the control drug, Gentamycin, except that in the latter the agar-well-determined MIC values (0.125-8.0 microg/ml) were lower than the macro-broth-determined values (0.125-64 microg/ml). The strong activity of the ethanolic extracts against known etiologic agents of diseases traditionally treated with L. owerrience root of similar preparations provides scientific justification for the use of the herb in ethnomedical practice in Nigeria.
Twenty-seven honey samples from different floral sources and geographical locations were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the growth of seven food spoilage organisms (Alcaligenes faecalis, Aspergillus niger, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Geotrichum candidum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Penicillium expansum, Pseudomonas fluorescens) and five foodborne pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica Ser. Typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus) using an overlay inhibition assay. They were also tested for specific activity against S. aureus 9144 and B. stearothermophilus using the equivalent percent phenol test--a well diffusion assay corresponding to a dilute phenol standard curve. Honey inhibited bacterial growth due to high sugar concentration (reduced water activity), hydrogen peroxide generation, and proteinaceous compounds present in the honey. Some antibacterial activity was due to other unidentified components. The ability of honey to inhibit the growth of microorganisms varies widely, and could not be attributed to a specific floral source or demographic region produced in this study. Antibacterially active samples in this study included Montana buckwheat, tarweed, manuka, melaleuca, and saw palmetto. Furthermore, the bacteria were not uniformly affected by honey. Varying sensitivities to the antimicrobial properties were observed with four strains of S. aureus thus emphasizing the variability in the antibacterial effect of honey samples. Mold growth was not inhibited by any of the honeys tested. B. stearothermophilus, a heat-resistant spoilage bacteria, was shown to be highly sensitive to honey in both the overlay and well diffusion assays; other sensitive bacteria included A. faecalis and L. acidophilus. Non-peroxide antibacterial activity was observed in both assays; the highest instance was observed in the specific activity assay against B. stearothermophilus. Further research could indicate whether honey has potential as a preservative in minimally processed foods.
The antimicrobial activity of manuka honey has been well documented (Molan, 1992a,b,c, 1997) [Molan, P.C., 1992. The antibacterial activity of honey. 1: the nature of the antibacterial activity. Bee World 73 (1) 5-28; Molan, P.C., 1992. The antibacterial activity of honey. 2: variation in the potency of the antibacterial activity. Bee World 73 (2) 59-76; Molan, P.C., 1992. Medicinal uses for honey. Beekeepers Quarterly 26; Molan, P.C., 1997. Finding New Zealand honeys with outstanding antibacterial and antifungal activity. New Zealand Beekeeper 4 (10) 20-26]. The current bioassays for determining this antimicrobial effect employ a well diffusion (Ahn and Stiles, 1990) [Ahn, C., Stiles, M.E., 1990. Antibacterial activity of lactic acid bacteria isolated from vacuum-packed meats. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 69, 302-310], (Weston et al., 1999) [Weston, R.J., Mitchell, K.R., Allen, K.L., 1999. Antibacterial phenolic components of New Zealand manuka honey. J. Food Chem. 64, 295-301] or disc diffusion (Taormina et al., 2001) [Taormina, Peter J., Niemira, Brendan A., Beuchat, Larry R., 2001. Inhibitory activity of honey against food borne pathogens as influenced by the presence of hydrogen peroxide and level of antioxidant power. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 69, 217-225] assay using zones of inhibition as indicators of bacterial susceptibility. The development of a 24-h spectrophotometric assay employing 96-well microtiter plates, that is more sensitive and more amenable to statistical analysis than the assays currently employed, was undertaken. This simple and rapid assay permits extensive kinetic studies even in the presence of low honey concentrations, and is capable of detecting inhibitory levels below those recorded for well or disc diffusion assays. In this paper, we compare the assay to both well and disc diffusion assays. The results we obtained for the spectrophotometric method MIC values show that this method has greater sensitivity than the standard well and disc diffusion assays. In addition, inter- and intra-assay variance for this method was investigated, demonstrating the methods reproducibility and repeatability.
Renewed interest in honey for various therapeutic purposes including treatment of infected wounds has led to the search for new antibacterial honeys. In this study we have assessed the antibacterial activity of three locally produced honeys and compared them to three commercial therapeutic honeys (including Medihoney and manuka honey).
An agar dilution method was used to assess the activity of honeys against 13 bacteria and one yeast. The honeys were tested at five concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 20%.
Twelve of the 13 bacteria were inhibited by all honeys used in this study with only Serratia marcescens and the yeast Candida albicans not inhibited by the honeys. Little or no antibacterial activity was seen at honey concentrations <1%, with minimal inhibition at 5%. No honey was able to produce complete inhibition of bacterial growth. Although Medihoney and manuka had the overall best activity, the locally produced honeys had equivalent inhibitory activity for some, but not all, bacteria.
Honeys other than those commercially available as antibacterial honeys can have equivalent antibacterial activity. These newly identified antibacterial honeys may prove to be a valuable source of future therapeutic honeys.
Using HPLC a fraction of New Zealand manuka honey has been isolated, which gives rise to the non-peroxide antibacterial activity. This fraction proved to be methylglyoxal, a highly reactive precursor in the formation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs). Methylglyoxal concentrations in 49 manuka and 34 non-manuka honey samples were determined using a direct detection method and compared with values obtained using standard o-phenylenediamine derivatisation. Concentrations obtained using both the methods were similar and varied from 38 to 828 mg/kg.