Three antibacterial effect of honey!

Honey Anti Bacterial Effect

The composition of honey is complex and rich in nutrition. It is a traditional and ancient natural nutritional health product and medical medicine. According to textual research, in China, as early as 4,000 years ago, there were records of the word "honey" in the oracle inscriptions of the Yin Shang Dynasty. It can be seen that honey was used by the ancient people far earlier than this era.

In the 2nd to 1st century BC, China ’s medical classic "Shen Nong's Herbal Classic" listed honey as the top grade-"Wei Gan is non-toxic, and treats the evil spirits ...". Ming Dynasty medical scientist Li Shizhen (1490 ~ 1570) recorded in his "Compendium of Materia Medica" the use of honey as a "medicine tonic, remedy pain, detoxify, remove all diseases and a hundred medicines, take long-serving, strong-spirited, long-lasting, hungry ... "And pointed out that honey has a wide range of applications in medicine, such as can treat trauma, gastrointestinal ulcers, skin ulcers, mouth and eye diseases.

The antibacterial activity of honey is caused by physical factors (isoosmolarity and acidity) and chemical factors (hydrogen peroxide, methyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate, methyl-4-hydroxy-3, 5-dimethylfluorobenzoate, 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid, tetracycline, nectar, volatile substances, propolis and unknowns). This article reviews the antibacterial action mechanism of honey (high permeability, acidic environment and antibacterial components), and introduces the medical application of honey antibacterial action.

1 Mechanism of antibacterial action of honey

The mechanism of honey's antibacterial effect can be summarized mainly in three aspects: high permeability, acid environment and antibacterial components.

2. The high permeability of honey

The main components of honey are sugars, including glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose and other carbohydrates, accounting for more than 80% of the total weight, so honey is essentially a supersaturated solution of sugar. Such a high sugar content gives it a high osmotic pressure. Generally, microorganisms are suitable for growth in solutions with an osmotic pressure of 3 to 6 atmospheres, and only a few molds and yeasts can grow in 60% to 80% sugar solutions (that is, 49 to 90 atmospheres). The high osmotic pressure environment can dehydrate the cells, cause the protoplasts to contract and the wall to separate, thereby stopping the cells from living until they die.

1.2 The acidic environment of honey

Honey contains a variety of organic acids and a small number of inorganic acids. Its pH value varies slightly with the honey variety, but generally its acidity is less than 4. Organic acids are mainly: citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, succinic acid, acetic acid, glutamic acid, formic acid, hydroxysuccinic acid, benzoic acid, and gluconic acid produced by the decomposition of grapes. There is a limit to the tolerance of microorganisms to pH. Exceeding this limit will cause bacterial metabolism to slow down, stop and even die. The suitable growth conditions for many pathogenic bacteria are usually pH 7.0-7.5. Under the strong acidity of honey, the growth of bacteria is inhibited. The acidity of honey is not proportional to its pH. Bogdanov (1997) found that the antibacterial activity of honey was directly directly related to acidity, but not to pH. This also shows that honey also contains other non-hydrogen peroxide-based components.

3. Antibacterial ingredients contained in honey

Molan (1992) used raw raw honey and artificial honey as a comparative experiment. The research found that the artificial honey has far less antibacterial activity than raw raw honey. This shows that the antibacterial effect of honey contains other antibacterial substances besides its high permeability , Such as the acid content of honey, hydrogen peroxide and so on. After diluting honey a certain number of times, honey still exhibits antibacterial properties against pathogenic microorganisms. It can be seen from the data in Table 1 that different bacteria have different sensitivities to honey, and different honeys have different degrees of inhibition of bacteria.

In addition to the antibacterial properties caused by the physical properties of honey, the antibacterial substances contained in honey play an extremely important role in wound healing and inflammation treatment. As early as 1892, Ketel first reported the antibacterial activity of honey. Until 1937, scholars from various countries have conducted extensive research on the antibacterial properties of honey, and believe that honey contains a variety of antibacterial substances. It can be roughly classified into two types of antibacterial active substances, or called "bacteriostats". The first type is hydrogen peroxide, which is produced when glucose oxidase oxidizes glucose. Glucose oxidase is secreted by bees' glands and is sensitive to light and heat responses. Some researchers believe that hydrogen peroxide is the main antibacterial substance in honey.

White et al. (1996) found that catalase from pollen can destroy hydrogen peroxide in honey and reduce its amount. Dustman (2000) found that pollen contained high catalase activity, while nectar was low, and high peroxide values ​​were found in honey samples lacking catalase activity. The second category is non-hydrogen peroxide. Some scholars have found that non-hydrogen peroxides in honey are the main antibacterial substances. It is found that glucose oxidase activity is inactivated in mature honey, and honey contains only a small amount of hydrogen peroxide, which is not enough. To inhibit bacterial growth. But when its honey is diluted, hydrogen peroxide is produced and can inhibit bacterial growth.

The non-hydrogen peroxides in honey are insensitive to light and heat, and can retain their activity after long-term storage. Bogdanov (1997) believes that most of the non-hydrogen peroxide components in honey come from bees, but a few are determined by their honey sources, such as nectar and honeydew. Toth.G (1987) found that the volatile components in honey significantly inhibited the growth of Gram-negative Bacillus and Candida albicans, but had no effect on the growth of Gram-positive bacteria. The contents of these volatile substances ranged from 0.12% to 0.26%. The chromatogram showed 41 peaks. Eight types of benzyl alcohol, eucalyptus oil, zene, pinene, pinene, linalool, farnesol, and eicosane have been identified. Sexual composition. Russell (1990) and others also found that antibacterial ingredients in honey, they are methyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate, methyl-4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylfluorobenzoate And 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid.

The antibacterial effect of honey is caused by many factors. In addition to the effects of the above factors on antibacterial activity, there are also honey varieties, lysozyme, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds in honey, which are factors that affect the antibacterial ability of honey.

(Source: "Jiangxi Journal of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine" 2017 No. 4 | Tang Fayou Yi Songqiang Jiang Hang Shen Dan; Liannan Yao Autonomous County Damaishan Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station Qingyuan, Guangdong; Jiangxi Animal Husbandry Technology Extension Station)