Abstract

HONEY: A NECTAROUS ANTI-INFECTIVE AGENT

Wajiha Gul*, Najaf Farooq, Uroosa Khan, Filza Rehan and Dania Anees

ABSTRACT

Honey is used as a traditional anti-infective agent with reduced side effects and can be used superior to many antibiotics to treat infections. Indeed its medicinal importance has been mentioned in world’s oldest medical literatures and it also has got religious singificance. It is a sweet viscous liquid produced and stored by honey bees (Apis melifera) in honey comb and is categorized on the basis of flowers which honey bees visit. It is composed of sugars, water, minerals, nitrogenous compound, some vitamins and enzymes like invertase, diastase and glucose oxidase. In addition to its anti-infective and wound healing properties it also has many other medicinal uses like in gastroenteritis, gastric ulcers, diabetes, burns and postoperative management of vulvar cancer. The anti-infective activity is due to hydrogen peroxide which is produced enzymatically, also presences of methylglyoxal contribute to this activity. This is the unique nature of honey that it contains microbes and also has anti microbial activity. The anti-bacterial activity of different honeys varies due to the difference in the sources of nectar. Among the different types of honey Manuka and Pasture honey have been considered most effect for treating infections and wound healing. Honey has inhibitory effects against many antibiotic-resistant bacteria and can be used for several health disorders of human. Presence of high sugar concentration, low pH, hydrogen peroxide, antioxidants, polyphenols, phenolic acids, and bee peptides contributes to its anti bacterial activity. The current review will elaborate the anti-infective properties of honey.

Keywords: honey, anti-infective, traditional medicine, honey bees, anti-bacterial, wound healer.