Honey has the ability to kill bacteria

2002/11/19 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Biokimika
• Mikrobiologia

There is no doubt that honey is beneficial. This benefit is due, logically, to the chemical components of honey. On the one hand, its high concentration of sugars, which slows down bacterial growth. On the other hand, it is a dense liquid, so it acts as an insulator. Therefore, in addition to ingestion, honey can be used directly in the wounds to treat infections.

Now, a team of microbiologists from the Wales Institute has shown that it has the ability to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To do this, they have carried out experiments in strains of Staphylococcus and Enterococcus, resistant to methicillin and vancomycin, and have discovered that some types of honey kill bacteria.

Scientists do not know what substances act against honey. The dilution of some miels produces hydrogen peroxide, a compound that kills bacteria. However, according to microbiologists, this is not the usual way to kill bacteria to honey. We still have to learn many processes of biochemistry of traditional medicines.