Honey and its antimicrobial properties

By 2050, it is expected that there will be a global death toll of 10 million from infections associated with antimicrobial resistance (O'Neill, 2016). Dr Matthew Dryden – Department of Microbiology and Infection, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Rare and Imported Pathogens Department, Public Health England – told The Journal of Prescribing Practice:

‘Antimicrobial resistance is possibly the greatest threat to the future of medicine and at the moment the global problem is getting worse. We need to think of new ways of preventing and treating infection.’

The modern application of honey, an ancient remedy whose first documented use dates to 2600−2200 BC (Zubair and Aziz, 2015) is one way in which we can address this issue. Honey is a viscous, super-saturated, acidic solution (pH 3.2–4.5) comprising around 80% sugar, 20% water, antioxidants, and proteins such as the enzyme glucose oxidase (Stephen-Haynes and Callaghan, 2011). Honey works as an antibacterial in many ways: its low moisture and high sugar content helps to extract water from bacteria through osmosis; its low pH inhibits bacterial growth; and it produces hydrogen peroxide catalysed by glucose oxidase. The dilution of honey in wound exudate may cause the level of hydrogen peroxide produced to vary (Vandamme et al, 2013).