Exploring the Antibacterial Properties of Honey and Its Potential

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Front. Microbio, 22 November 2012A commentary on re-examining the role of hydrogen peroxidein bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities of honey by Brudzynski, K.,Abubaker, K., St-Martin, L., and Castle, A.In the trend of the use of antimicrobial compounds fromnatural and renewable resources, natural antimicrobial compounds, particularlyfound in food and with potential biomedical applications, are of highestinterest. In this context, the contribution by Brudzynski et al. to our specialissue on “antimicrobial compounds from natural sources” deserves a specialattention not only for giving insights into the natural antimicrobialcomponents present in the honey, but also for exploiting their potential mechanismof action.The antibacterial properties of honey have been welldocumented. The hydrogen peroxide has been described as the main compoundresponsible by the antibacterial activity of honeys. The hydrogen peroxide is apotent antimicrobial agent, produced mainly during glucose oxidation catalyzedby the action of the bee enzyme, glucose oxidase, which is introduced intohoney during nectar harvesting by bees. The hydrogen peroxide concentration inhoney is determined by the rate of its production by glucose oxidase and itsdestruction by catalases. Thus, the hydrogen peroxide levels in differenthoneys may differ considerably from honey to honey. In this study the authorsre-examined the role of the hydrogen peroxide as component responsible for the antibacterialactivity in honey.The correlation between the endogenous hydrogen peroxideconcentration and the inhibitory activity of bacterial growth by honey is wellestablished. Indeed, honeys with a high concentration of hydrogen peroxide havehigher antibacterial activity. However, honey is a complex chemical milieucomposed of over 100 different compounds (including antioxidants and traces oftransition metals), which can interact with the hydrogen peroxide, affectingthe oxidizing activity of the honey. Consequently, this interaction may resultin increase or decrease of the antimicrobial activity of honey.Hydrogen peroxide alone is commonly used as disinfectantcompound in medical equipment in hospitals. For disinfection of these materialshigh concentrations of H2O2 are used (0.8–8 M) and H2O2 antimicrobial activityhas been verified against several medical important bacteria species, includingStaphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spores.The bactericide activity of hydrogen peroxide is related to the accumulation ofirreversible oxidative damages to the membrane, proteins, enzymes, and DNA…