A possible role for honey in the treatment of wounds
New research carried out by scientists at partner institutions UWIC (University of Wales Institute, Cardiff), University of Wales College of Medicine (UWCM) in Cardiff and the University of Waikato, New Zealand, has found sensitivity to honey of wound infecting bacteria.
In a report published in the November 2002 issue of Journal of Applied Microbiology, Dr Rose Cooper (UWIC), Professor Peter Molan MBE (University of Waikato) and Professor Keith Harding (UWCM) explain: “In laboratory tests, 2 New Zealand honeys and an artificial honey solution were tested for their ability to inhibit bacteria with the potential to cause wound infections. Eighteen strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus (MRSA), 7 strains of vancomycin-sensitive enterococci (VSE) and 20 strains of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) were tested.
For all of the strains tested, the lowest inhibitory concentrations of the two natural honeys were at least three times lower than that of the artificial honey, and sometimes ten times lower. This showed that the mode of inhibition was not exclusively due to the osmolarity of the sugars present. Comparison between the ability to inhibit antibiotic sensitive bacteria and antibiotic resistant bacteria showed no significant difference.”
This study indicates a possible role for honey in the treatment of wounds colonised by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine
This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.
Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.
Newest articles
Sea slugs inspire highly stretchable biomedical sensor
USC Viterbi School of Engineering researcher Hangbo Zhao presents findings on highly stretchable and customizable microneedles for application in fields including neuroscience, tissue engineering, and wearable bioelectronics. The revolution in…
Twisting and binding matter waves with photons in a cavity
Precisely measuring the energy states of individual atoms has been a historical challenge for physicists due to atomic recoil. When an atom interacts with a photon, the atom “recoils” in…
Nanotubes, nanoparticles, and antibodies detect tiny amounts of fentanyl
New sensor is six orders of magnitude more sensitive than the next best thing. A research team at Pitt led by Alexander Star, a chemistry professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich…
