Journal
LETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 62, Issue 3, Pages 269-276Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/lam.12541
Keywords
antimicrobial activity; colour; conductivity; honey; pathogenic bacteria; phenolics
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Funding
- Croatian Science Foundation [IP-11-2013-8547]
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The use of honey as an antimicrobial agent gains importance due to often ineffectiveness of conventional treatment. However, activity of honey depends mainly on its botanical and geographical origin. To date, antimicrobial potential of Polish honeys has not yet been entirely investigated. In this study, 37 unifloral samples of 14 honey types (including rare varieties) from Poland were analysed and compared with manuka honey. The most active were cornflower, thyme and buckwheat honeys. Their MICs ranged from 3.12 to 25.00%, (depending on tested micro-organism) and often were lower than for manuka honey. Additionally, colour, antioxidant activity, total phenols, pH and conductivity were assessed and significant correlations (P<0.05) of MICs with several parameters were found. The most active were darker honeys, with strong yellow colour component, rich in phenolics, with high conductivity and water content. The honey antibacterial properties depended mainly on peroxide mechanism and were vulnerable to excessive heating, but quite stable during storage in cold. A number of honey samples showed potential as effective antimicrobial agents. The observed correlations of MICs and physical-chemical parameters help to understand better the factors impacting the antibacterial activity.
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