Science Update

<editor's note>
from Nature.com http://www.nature.com/nsu/021118/021118-1.html
19 November 2002
by Kendall Powell
</editor's note>

Honey kills antibiotic-resistant bugs
Chronic wounds could benefit from traditional medicine.

Some companies are already making
honey-impregnated bandages for treating wounds.
© GettyImages


Honey could help to treat wounds that refuse to heal.
Researchers seeking scientific support for honey's
legendary medicinal properties have found that it stops
bacteria from growing - even strains that are resistant
to some antibiotics1.

Records of people covering wounds in honey stretch back
to ancient Egypt. Until recently it was believed that
honey's syrupy consistency kept air out of wounds, and
that its high sugar content slowed bacterial growth. The
new evidence suggests that honey must also have other
properties that kill bacteria.

Compared with an artificial honey solution of the same
thickness and sugar concentration, natural honey kills
bacteria three times more effectively, Rose Cooper, a
microbiologist at the University of Wales Institute,
Cardiff, and colleagues have shown. They are not sure
what the active ingredients are.

Some types of honey, when diluted, form hydrogen
peroxide, which kills bacteria and can be used to clean
wounds. But Cooper's team rules out the possibility that
hydrogen peroxide is the only force at play.

Both pasture honey, which generates hydrogen peroxide,
and manuka honey, which does not, stop bacteria from
growing in the lab, they demonstrate. They used strains
of Staphlyococcus and Enterococcus that can withstand
'last resort' antibiotics, such as methicillin and
vancomycin. The microbes were collected from wounds and
hospital surfaces.

Honey may be antimicrobial because of enzymes secreted
by the bees that make it; alternatively, its activity
could be due to its acidity or to chemicals from the
original plant nectar, Cooper speculates. "It's a
traditional remedy that has been overlooked," she says.
"To reintroduce it, we must have evidence to support its
antibacterial and healing properties."

Andrea Nelson, a nurse researcher who has worked on
chronic wound healing at the University of York, UK,
agrees. To convince sceptical doctors, clinical trials
must be carried out applying honey to patients' wounds,
she says.

Infected wounds cause pain, result in extra time in
hospital, are costly to treat and can lead to
complications and even death. Treating them has become a
problem, as prolonged use of antibiotics can result in
the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria.
Clinical trials must be carried out

Andrea Nelson
University of York


For this reason, other alternative remedies are also
being explored, says Nelson. These include iodine,
silver-based compounds and 'larval therapy', in which
maggots are applied to the wound to eat away dead tissue
and break down bacteria.

While scientists continue to scratch their heads over
honey's secrets, some companies are already making
sterilized tubes of honey and honey-impregnated bandages
for treating wounds.

Cooper is careful to add a warning: "We're not
suggesting that anyone should rush out and buy honey in
supermarkets to treat wounds." The heat-processing of
store-bought honey would probably eliminate any
antibacterial properties, she says - anyone with a
stubborn wound should seek professional treatment.

References
Cooper, R. A., Molan, P. C. & Harding, K. G. The
sensitivity to honey of Gram-positive cocci of
clinical significance isolated from wounds. Journal of
Applied Microbiology, 93, 857 - 863, (2002). |Article|

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