Antimicrobial properties of honey
Honey is a yellow-brown fluid made by bees (Apis mellifera) from nectar, collected from flowers. It is sweet in taste and thick in texture.
Since ancient times honey has been used as food, cosmetics and medicines by all civilizations.
Though use of honey as medicine is not a new practice but its broad spectrum antimicrobial properties (antibacterial, antifungal and antimycobacterial) are discovered in modern times (in 1892 by Dustman).
Honey as medicine
Honey as a medicine can;
Why is honey therapeutic?
Now the question is what ingredients make honey therapeutic?
Honey is hygroscopic in nature it can draw moisture out of the environment and dehydrate bacteria. High sugar content and low level pH can also prevent the microbes from growth.
High viscosity of honey provide a protective barrier to skin, prevent from infection.
Besides that Honey contains about 180 types of different compounds, including water, sugars, free amino acids, proteins, enzymes, essential minerals, vitamins, and various phytochemicals which are good for skin and body.
Studies suggested that some of the factors present in honey are the reason behind its antimicrobial activity such as.
Hydrogen peroxide: the most important ingredient of honey, responsible for microcidal activity. Hydrogen peroxide kill microorganism by destroying their cell wall. Hydrogen peroxide is produced by glucose oxidase enzyme, its concentration in honey is determined by the rate of its production by glucose oxidase and its destruction by catalases thus, the hydrogen peroxide level in different types of honey differs. It is a heat and light sensitive compound.
Methylglyoxal: it is another important ingredient, it gives non-peroxide antibacterial property to the honey. MGO causes alterations in the structure of bacterial fimbriae and flagella which would limit bacteria adherence and motility. Due to the presence of methylglyoxal, antibacterial property of honey remain intact for longer time because it is not sensitive towards light and heat.
Flavonoids & Polyphenols: With the time and age biomolecules of the body such as lipid, protein and nucleic acid get damage which create oxidative stress or free radicals in the body. The damage further may develop into many diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders etc. Flavonoids and polyphenols act as antioxidants, fight against free radicals and reduce oxidative stress.
Antibacterial properties of the flavonoids and polyphenols are due to the fact that they disrupt cell wall and cell membrane of bacteria. The antibacterial activity of polyphenols may be also due to the capacity of these compounds to chelate iron, vital for the survival of almost all bacteria. In recent years, it has been reported that polyphenols are able to disintegrate the outer membrane of bacteria, release Lipopolysaccharides of cell and increase the permeability of the cytoplasmic membrane.
Lysozyme: lysozyme present in honey inhibits a broad spectrum of gram-positive bacteria and some fungi by hydrolysing their cell wall.
Bee peptides: bacteriostatic in nature means they do not kill but prevent the growth of bacteria by keeping them in stationary phase of growth.
If you want to watch the video on antimicrobial properties of honey. Please check out this video on you tube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7IOSHqEJEk&list=PL2HJ58HdTrzZxkd_h_KLu2JpF8rECdR9Q&index=4
Types of honey
There are many types of honey available depending on plants, honey bees feed on.
Here are some links I found useful to know about types of honey and their use.
https://healthywithhoney.com/types-of-honey/
https://organicdailypost.com/different-types-honey/
Thanks for reading
