Bacteria Killed by Honey

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19 November 2010

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Superbug Bacteria Killed by Honey

Australian scientists have discovered a particular

type of honey found in Australia and

New Zealand has extraordinary healing power

Bees feeding off tea trees native to Australia and New Zealand, produce a type of honey that’s known as “Jelly Bush Honey” in Australia and “Mankuta Honey” in New Zealand.

Now, scientists at the University of Sydney’s School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences have found this particular type of honey has some amazing curative properties.

Compound Toxic for Bacteria

Until now, Manuka Honey has been sold in health food stores as a natural medicine. That is probably about to change.

Writing in The Australian, John Stapleton reports “…new research has shown the honey kills every type of bacteria scientists have thrown at it, including the antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ plaguing hospitals and killing patients around the world.”

Professor Dee Carter is one of the research team that made the discovery. She said a compound in the honey called methylglyoxal seems to be key to the effectiveness of the honey. However, methylglyoxal on its own is toxic but when it combines with what are, as yet, unknown compounds it causes “multi-system failure” in bacteria.

Manuka Honey Unique to New Zealand

Honey bees collect nectar from Manuka bushes (also known as Tea Trees - left) which grow in remote areas of New Zealand.

According to Manuka Health the discovery of the anti-bacterial properties of methylglyoxal was made by Professor Thomas Henle at the University of Dresden, Germany. The results of his research were published in January 2008.

The concentrations of methylglyoxal in Manuka honey range from 20 to 800 milligrams per kilo. European honeys that were tested had levels of methylglyoxal ranging from none to 10 milligrams per kilo.

Manuka honey is dark and creamy and, until now, has been used as a topical application and anti-fungal agent to help wounds heal. Its healing properties were well-known to Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, long before modern antibiotics were developed.

Wider Applications for Manuka Honey Foreseen

In his article in the The Australian, John Stapleton wrote: “The findings are likely to have a major impact on modern medicine and could lead to a range of honey-based products to replace antibiotic and antiseptic creams.”

Many antibiotics have short lives because bacteria develop immunity to them. This discourages pharmaceutical companies from investing huge sums of money into researching a product that will likely have a short shelf-life.

According to The Australian, “Professor Carter said the fascinating thing was that none of the bacteria researchers used to test the honey, including superbugs such as flesh-eating bacteria, built up any immunity.”

The results of the research project have been published online in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. It seems likely that more research will lead to wider uses for Manuka honey.

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Serious Fun

Sources

“Honey I Killed the Superbug, John Stapleton, The Australian, June 18, 2009

“The Unusual Antibacterial Activity of Medical-grade Leptospermum Honey: Antibacterial Spectrum, Resistance and Transcriptome Analysis.” S.E. Blair et al, European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Vol. 28, No. 10

“Most bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one antibiotic, and there is an urgent need for new ways to treat and control surface infections.”

Professor Dee Carter, University of Sydney