Antibacterial Activity of Honey Against Bacteria Isolated from Respiratory Tract Infections

Authors

  • Farhan Essaa Abdullah Dr. Essa’s Laboratory and Diagnostic Centre, Karachi, Pakistan
  • Kiran Afab Third Year Student, Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Rabia Khanum Third Year Student, Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Sidrah Sohail Khan Third Year Student, Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.

Keywords:

Honey, antibacterial sensitivity, respiratory infections

Abstract

Objective

This study aims to verify any antibacterial activity of honey against bacteria concerned with Respiratory Tract Infections in Karachi, Pakistan.

Methodology

Three brands of commercial honey, one rude and two processed were used to determine their antibacterial activity against four bacterial species, Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=56), Pneumococci (n=34), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=16), and Staphylococcus aureus (n=20), isolated from Sputum and Throat swab specimens. The cork-bore method was employed using Mueller-Hinton agar, and the inhibition zones around the wells containing 20%w/v honey solutions were assessed using Imipenem disc (30ug) as the standard of antibacterial activity. Data was analyzed using SPSS 16.0.

Results

Significant antibacterial activity of honey was observed against the 4 RTI isolates, with higher sensitivities for ProcS (Salman s Honey) and Crude sample. The Crude sample yielded relatively superior inhibition zones than the other two specimens; it affected all 34 (100%) of Pneumococci, 29 of 56 (52%) Klebsiellae, 14 of 20 (70%) Staphylococci and 4 of 16 (25%) Pseudomonas isolates. Pneumococci were significantly more sensitive to all 3 honey specimens, while pseudomonas were least sensitive compared to other isolates.

Conclusion

Samples of honey showed promising in vitro antibacterial activity on some RTI isolates.

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Published

2012-12-25

How to Cite

Essaa Abdullah, F. ., Afab, K. ., Khanum, R. ., & Sohail Khan, S. . (2012). Antibacterial Activity of Honey Against Bacteria Isolated from Respiratory Tract Infections. Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences (JDUHS), 6(3), 95–99. Retrieved from https://jduhs.jduhs.duhs.edu.pk/index.php/jduhs/article/view/1485

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