Antimicrobial Effect of Honey from the Arabian Gulf Region against Bacterial Isolates from Pus and Wound Swabs

Of the many beneficial effects attributed to honey, its antimicrobial properties have drawn considerable interest. Five types of natural honey originating from three countries but available in the local markets in UAE were randomly selected. The antibacterial activity of the honey types was tested against bacterial reference strains as well as 21 bacterial isolates obtained from pus and wound swabs from patients. All the five types of honey showed antibacterial activity, however, there were differences in the antibacterial efficacy of the different honey types. All the strains of Staphylococcus aureus (reference, clinical and methicillin-resistant) exhibited better susceptibilities contrast to the gram-negative isolates including Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa when tested against all different honey types. The findings from this study indicate that the antibacterial activity of locally available honey varies depending on their provenance. Further work is needed to identify factors which determine the antimicrobial efficacy of these different honey types. Their antibacterial activity can be explored for the treatment of wound infections in patients.