Efficacy of honey extracts against some bacterial isolates from infected wound

Abstract

Wound infections have been recognized as the most critical problem especially in the presence of foreign materials that increase the risk of serious infection even with relatively small bacterial infection. This study was carried out to determine the antibacterial activity of honey extracts against 5 clinical isolates of bacteria obtained from infected wounds. Different concentrations of honey extract (25, 50, 75 and 100 v/v) were tested using agar well diffusion method to determine their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoneae and Proteus mirabilis isolated from infected wounds of patients attending Muhammad Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, Kano. The sensitivity pattern of the isolates to the honey extracts showed that all the tested isolates were sensitive to the extracts used, with P. mirabilis being the most susceptible with average zone of inhibition of 23.3 mm, while S. aureusis was the least susceptible with average zone of inhibition of 11.8 mm. Statistical analysis of the results showed that there were no significant differences in the activities of the honey extracts used against the isolates tested at P = 0.05. The MIC and MBC of the extracts against the isolates ranged from 12.5 - 50 % v/v. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that honey is active against wound bacterial isolates and can be used as a therapy for wound infection.

Keywords: Honey; Wound; Antibacterial activity; Infection; Bacteria