Honey: its medicinal property and antibacterial activity
- 30 April 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Medknow in Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
- Vol. 1 (2), 154-160
- https://doi.org/10.1016/s2221-1691(11)60016-6
Abstract
Indeed, medicinal importance of honey has been documented in the world's oldest medical literatures, and since the ancient times, it has been known to possess antimicrobial property as well as wound-healing activity. The healing property of honey is due to the fact that it offers antibacterial activity, maintains a moist wound condition, and its high viscosity helps to provide a protective barrier to prevent infection. Its immunomodulatory property is relevant to wound repair too. The antimicrobial activity in most honeys is due to the enzymatic production of hydrogen peroxide. However, another kind of honey, called non-peroxide honey (viz., manuka honey), displays significant antibacterial effects even when the hydrogen peroxide activity is blocked. Its mechanism may be related to the low pH level of honey and its high sugar content (high osmolarity) that is enough to hinder the growth of microbes. The medical grade honeys have potent in vitro bactericidal activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing several life-threatening infections to humans. But, there is a large variation in the antimicrobial activity of some natural honeys, which is due to spatial and temporal variation in sources of nectar. Thus, identification and characterization of the active principle(s) may provide valuable information on the quality and possible therapeutic potential of honeys (against several health disorders of humans), and hence we discussed the medicinal property of honeys with emphasis on their antibacterial activities.Keywords
This publication has 47 references indexed in Scilit:
- Antibacterial activity of honey against clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella enterica serovar TyphiAsian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, 2010
- Synergistic anti–Staphylococcus aureus activity of amoxicillin in combination with Emblica officinalis and Nymphae odorata extractsAsian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, 2010
- Comparison of the antimicrobial activity of Ulmo honey from Chile and Manuka honey against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2010
- The antibacterial properties of Malaysian tualang honey against wound and enteric microorganisms in comparison to manuka honeyBMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2009
- Medical Honey for Wound Care—Still the ‘Latest Resort’?Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2009
- RE: Visavadia BG, Honeysett J, Danford MH. Manuka honey dressing: An effective treatment for chronic wound infections. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2006 Nov 17; [Epub ahead of print]British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2008
- Burn Wound InfectionsClinical Microbiology Reviews, 2006
- Changes of microbial flora and wound colonization in burned patientsBurns, 2004
- The Effect of Dilution on the Rate of Hydrogen Peroxide Production in Honey and Its Implications for Wound HealingThe Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2003
- Use of Honey as an Adjunct in the Healing of Split-Thickness Skin Graft Donor SiteDermatologic Surgery, 2003