Abstract
Honeydew honey is increasingly valued due to its pronounced antibacterial potential; however, the underlying mechanism and compounds responsible for the strong antibacterial activity of honeydew honey are still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibition of bacterial growth of 23 honeydew honey samples. Activity of bee-derived glucose oxidase (GOX) enzyme, the content of defensin-1 (Def-1) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and total polyphenol content were determined in the 23 honey samples. Our results demonstrated that antibacterial activity of honeydew honey was equivalent to medical-grade manuka and kanuka honey and was abolished by catalase. Although H2O2 is an important factor in the inhibition of bacterial growth, polyphenolic compounds and their interaction with H2O2 are the key factors responsible for high antibacterial activity of honeydew honey. In addition, our results indicated that the antibacterial activity of honeydew honey is not dependent on GOX-mediated production of H2O2 or the presence of Def-1.
Highlights
Honeydew honey is produced by bees from sugar-rich secretions of trees and plants or exudates of plant-sucking insects (Hemiptera)
We focused on honeydew honey as a source of potential medical-grade honey to elucidate its antibacterial activity and to investigate the role of bee-derived antibacterial components on its overall antibacterial activity
A plethora of studies has demonstrated the important role of Def-1 and H2O2 in the antibacterial activity of honey
Summary
Honeydew honey is produced by bees from sugar-rich secretions of trees and plants or exudates of plant-sucking insects (Hemiptera). The botanical origin of honeydew honey is from conifers or deciduous trees. Honeydew honey possesses strong biological properties including antibacterial[1,3,4], antibiofilm[5], antiinflammatory[6], antioxidant[7], as well as wound healing activity[8]. The antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of honeydew honey is comparable to manuka honey, which is currently used as medical-grade honey in clinical applications. The mechanism underlying the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of honeydew honey has not been fully elucidated. We aimed to (i) determine the antibacterial activity of Slovak honeydew honey samples against the two most frequently isolated wound pathogens, (ii) investigate the mechanism of how honeydew www.nature.com/scientificreports/. The data are expressed as the mean values with standard error of the mean (SEM)
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