Fireweed honey is made in the clear mountain air.
Honey & Espresso will make your day.Anti-Microbial Effects of Honey
Written by Bianca Sunday, 26 April 2009 20:43
Honey is a potent anti-microbial. Below are articles and abstracts talking about these effects
Antibacterial activity of 13 honeys against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa
J Med Food. 2005 Spring;8(1):100-3.Click here to read
Wilkinson JM, Cavanagh HM.
School of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
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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.
Causes of the antimicrobial activity of honey
Infection. 1998 Jan-Feb;26(1):26-31.
Wahdan HA.
Food Microbiology Laboratory, Cairo, Egypt.
The present study was performed to clarify the possible causes of the antimicrobial activity of honey. A sugar solution resembling honey in its high sugar content was made. The antimicrobial activities of both honey and this solution towards 21 types of bacteria and two types of fungi were examined. The results achieved by both were compared. The difference between them indicated the presence of antimicrobial substance(s) in honey. The kinds of antimicrobial substances (inhibines) in honey are discussed. Hydrogen peroxide is not the only inhibine in honey. In fact, inhibines in honey include many other substances. Two important classes of these inhibines are the flavonoids and the phenolic acids. Flavonoids have often been extracted from honey previously. In this study two phenolic acids (caffeic acid and ferulic acid) were extracted from honey for the first time.
A survey of the antibacterial activity of some New Zealand honeys
J Pharm Pharmacol. 1991 Dec;43(12):817-22.
Allen KL, Molan PC, Reid GM.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
To assess the variation in antibacterial activity of honey a survey was carried out on 345 samples of unpasteurized honey obtained from commercial apiarists throughout New Zealand. Most of the honeys were considered to be monofloral, from 26 different floral sources. The honeys were tested against Staphylococcus aureus in an agar well diffusion assay, with reference to phenol as a standard. Antibacterial activity was found to range from the equivalent of less than 2% (w/v) phenol to 58% (w/v) phenol, with a median of 13.6 and a standard deviation of 12.5. Neither the age of the honey samples nor whether they had been processed by the apiarist was associated with lower activity. However, the difference between floral sources in the antibacterial activity was very highly significant. Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides (A. Rich.) J. Thompson. Family: Myrtaceae), manuka (Leptospermum scoparium J. R. et G. Forst. Family: Myrtaceae), ling heather (Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull. Family: Ericaceae) and kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa Linn. f. Family: Cunoniaceae) were shown to be sources likely to give honey with high antibacterial activity. When antibacterial activity was assayed with catalase added to remove hydrogen peroxide, most of the honeys showed no detectable antibacterial activity. Only manuka and vipers bugloss (Echium vulgare L. Family: Boraginaceae) honeys showed this type of activity in a significant proportion of the samples. The high antibacterial activity of manuka honey was in many cases due entirely to this non-peroxide component.
