Abstract
BackgroundAntimicrobial drug resistance is a major public health threat that can render infections including wound and skin infections untreatable. The discovery of new antimicrobials is critical. Approaches to discover novel antimicrobial therapies have included investigating the antimicrobial activity of natural sources such as honey. In this study, the anti-microbial activity and chemical composition of 12 honeys from Kazakhstan and medical grade manuka honey were investigated.MethodsAgar well diffusion and broth culture assays were used to determine anti-microbial activity against a range of skin and wound infecting micro-organisms. Folin-Ciocalteu method was used to determine the total phenol content of the honeys and non-targeted liquid chromatography analysis was performed to identify components that correlated with antimicrobial activity.ResultsIn the well diffusion assay, the most susceptible micro-organisms were a clinical isolate of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 19433). Buckwheat & multi-floral honey from Kazakhstan demonstrated the highest antimicrobial activity against these two micro-organisms. Kazakhstan honeys with a buckwheat floral source, and manuka honey had the highest total phenol content. Non-targeted liquid chromatography analysis identified components that correlated with anti-microbial activity as hydroxyphenyl acetic acid, p-coumaric acid, (1H)–quinolinone, and abscisic acid.ConclusionsThe Kazakhstan honeys selected in this study demonstrated antimicrobial activity against wound and skin infecting micro-organisms. Compounds identified as correlating with antimicrobial activity could be considered as potential bioactive agents for the treatment of wound and skin infections.
Highlights
Antimicrobial drug resistance is a major public health threat that can render infections including wound and skin infections untreatable
Microbial strains For the well diffusion assay, the following clinical isolates obtained from the Medical Microbiology Department, Republican Diagnostic Center (RDC), Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan were used: Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Candida albicans (Anonymous patient data showing resistance/sensitivity of the clinical isolates to a range of antibiotics or antifungals is provided in Supplementary file 1)
The micro-organisms that were most susceptible to the honeys were a clinical isolate of MRSA and E. faecalis (ATCC 19443)
Summary
Antimicrobial drug resistance is a major public health threat that can render infections including wound and skin infections untreatable. Anti-microbial drug resistance is a major worldwide health problem requiring the urgent discovery of novel therapeutic interventions [1]. Manuka honey, produced by bees (Apis mellifera) gathering nectar from the flowering plant Leptospermum scoparium, has broad range anti-bacterial activity and is recommended for the clinical management of wound infections [3]. Common wound infecting micro-organisms include Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis and Acinetobacter baumannii [2]. In addition to wound infections, micro-organisms are associated with the etiology of a variety of skin disorders. As honey has been shown to have broad range anti-microbial activity, it is realistic to consider honey as a potential therapeutic agent for other skin disorders where micro-organisms are involved in the mechanisms of the disease
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