The antimicrobial activity of honey against common equine wound bacterial isolates.

The research article explores the effectiveness of different types of honey in inhibiting the growth of bacteria commonly found in horse wounds. It concludes that Scottish Heather Honey performed best out of 29 tested, even though non-medical grade honeys are also in use by equine clinicians.

Objective of the Research

• This study sought to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of various types of honey against bacteria typically found in horse wounds. The purpose was to find the most effective honey types and provide a basis for further assessment, particularly for those honeys that performed well.

Methodology

• The researchers sourced 29 different honey products which included gamma-irradiated & non-irradiated commercial medical grade honeys, supermarket honeys, as well as honeys from local beekeepers.
• All honeys were cultured aerobically to check for bacterial contamination. This process eliminated 18 products due to the presence of aerobic bacteria or fungi.
• The remaining 11 honeys were tested against ten wound bacteria to measure their antimicrobial activity. The bacteria included some hard-to-treat strains such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Findings

• Eight products were effective against all ten bacterial strains at concentrations ranging from 2% to 16% (v/v).
• Scottish Heather Honey was found to be the best performing product. It was able to inhibit the growth of all ten bacterial isolates at concentrations ranging from 2% to 6% (v/v).

Conclusion and Recommendations

• The study concluded that while Manuka honey has been the most studied honey for antimicrobial properties, other varieties still show strong antibacterial traits. The researchers emphasize that the potential of these other sources shouldn’t be overlooked.
• Given that some honeys contained aerobic bacteria or fungi, the study also concluded that non-sterile honeys might not be suitable for wound treatment.
• The study recommends that a further assessment of gamma-irradiated honeys from the best performing honeys would be beneficial for future research.