Medical Importance of Honey

Medical importance of Honey 

Medicinal importance of honey has been documented in the world's oldest medical literatures, and since the ancient times, it has been known to possess antimicrobial property as well as wound-healing activity. The healing property of honey is due to the fact that it offers:

– antibacterial activity

– maintains a moist wound condition

–its high viscosity helps to provide a protective barrier to prevent infection.

Its immunomodulatory property is relevant to wound repair too. The antimicrobial activity in most honeys is due to the enzymatic production of hydrogen peroxide. Its mechanism may be related to the low pH level of honey and its high sugar content (high osmolarity) that is enough to hinder the growth of microbes. The medical grade honeys have potent in vitro bactericidal activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria causing several life-threatening infections to humans. But, there is a large variation in the antimicrobial activity of some natural honeys, which is due to spatial and temporal variation in sources of nectar. Thus, identification and characterization of the active principle(s) may provide valuable information on the quality and possible therapeutic potential of honeys (against several health disorders of humans)activities . it has been shown that the antimicrobial activity of honey may range from concentrations < 3% to 50% and higher. The bactericidal effect of honey is reported to be dependent on concentration of honey used and the nature of the bacteria. The concentration of honey has an impact on antibacterial activity; the higher the concentration of honey the greater its usefulness as an antibacterial agent.

Microbial resistance to honey has never been reported which makes it a very promising topical antimicrobial agent against the infection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and in the treatment of chronic wound infections that do not respond to antibiotic therapy. Hence honey has been used as a last-resort medication. 

Low ph value and high sugar content of honey makes it more beneficial for human consumption .

This comparison will help us to know that different honey which are available in market are of which quality and which amongst all is best in antibacterial activity and at what concentration this should be consumed for better health.

Honeys other than those commercially available as antibacterial honeys can have equivalent antibacterial activity. These newly identified antibacterial honeys may prove to be a valuable source of future therapeutic honeys