Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2016 Dec 6:25:212.
doi: 10.11604/pamj.2016.25.212.10414. eCollection 2016.

Effect of United States buckwheat honey on antibiotic-resistant hospital acquired pathogens

Eric Nee-Armah Hammond  1 , Megan Duster  2 , Jackson Ssentalo Musuuza  3 , Nasia Safdar  3
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Effect of United States buckwheat honey on antibiotic-resistant hospital acquired pathogens

Eric Nee-Armah Hammond et al. Pan Afr Med J. .

Abstract

Introduction: Due to an upsurge in antibiotic-resistant infections and lack of therapeutic options, new approaches are needed for treatment. Honey may be one such potential therapeutic option. We investigated the susceptibility of hospital acquired pathogens to four honeys from Wisconsin, United States, and then determined if the antibacterial effect of each honey against these pathogens is primarily due to the high sugar content.

Methods: Thirteen pathogens including: four Clostridium difficile, two Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, two Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, two Vancomycin-resistance Enterococcus, one Enterococcus faecalis and one Klebsiella pneumoniae were exposed to 1-50% (w/v) four Wisconsin honeys and Artificial honey to determine their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) using the broth dilution method.

Results: Buckwheat honey predominantly exhibited a bactericidal mode of action against the tested pathogens, and this varied with each pathogen. C. difficile isolates were more sensitive to the Wisconsin buckwheat honey as compared to the other pathogens. Artificial honey at 50% (w/v) failed to kill any of the pathogens. The high sugar content of Wisconsin buckwheat honey is not the only factor responsible for its bactericidal activity.

Conclusion: Wisconsin buckwheat honey has the potential to be an important addition to therapeutic armamentarium against resistant pathogens and should be investigated further.

Keywords: Buckwheat honey; antibiotic-resistant; nosocomial pathogen; susceptibility.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) (% w/v) of WBH, on antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The values are represented as mean of triplicate results. The investigation of MIC and MBC values for aerobic and anaerobic isolates were carried out after 24 h and 48 h incubation respectively. American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). +Clinical isolates. ++ MBC >50.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Safdar N. Clostridium difficile: The Emerging Epidemic. Mayo Clin Proc. 2012 Nov;87(11):1037–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. WHO’s first global report on antibiotic resistance reveals serious, worldwide threat to public health. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/amr-report/en/. Accessed 29 June 2015.
    1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States. 2013. http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/. Accessed 29 June 2015.
    1. Spellberg B, Guidos R, Gilbert D, Bradley J, Boucher HW, Scheld WM, et al. The epidemic of antibiotic-resistant infections: a call to action for the medical community from the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis. 2008 Jan 15;46(2):155–64. - PubMed
    1. van den Berg AJJ, van den Worm E, van Ufford HCQ, Halkes SBA, Hoekstra MJ, Beukelman CJ. An in vitro examination of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of buckwheat honey. J Wound Care. 2008 Apr;17(4):172–4. 176–8. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources