The antibacterial activity of honey is mainly credited to its acidity, osmolarity and
enzymatic generation of hydrogen peroxide via glucose oxidase. Additional honey
components, such as aromatic acids or phenolic compounds, also contribute to the overall
antibacterial activity. The level of antibacterial activities found in honey varies with
different types of honey, due to mainly the composition, percentage as well as the nature
of the sugars present in the honey. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity
of four types of honey, namely Tualang honey (TH1), Tualang honey (TH2), Acacia honey
(AH) and Yemeni Sumur honey (YSH). Nine bacterial strains were used. Disc diffusion,
well diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), Minimum bactericidal
concentration (MBC), and time-kill methods were performed to reveal the antibacterial
potential of the selected honey. The MIC values ranged between 12.5 to 50% for both TH1
and YSH while for TH2, and AH it ranged between 25 to 50%. For MBC, it ranged from
25 to 50%. The time-kill in TH1 Staphylococcus aureus (food isolate) showed total
inhibition at 6 hrs in 2 X MIC, and for Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29737 was 3.84 log
CFU/g at the 6 hrs. Physicochemical quality of honey resulted as follows: the pH of the
honey samples was acidic in nature ranging between 3.69 to 3.94, and the aw of the honey
samples were between 0.53 to 0.69. For colour analysis, YSH was observed to has the
maximum lightness and yellowness, and TH1 has the maximum redness. While, AH had a
minimum lightness, redness, and yellowness.
Antibacterial properties of Kelulut, Tualang and Acacia honey against fourteen clinically-isolated strains of bacteria-infecting wound
