Antibacterial activity of different types of honey on Staphylococcus aureus isolates

Background: People have historically utilized honey as medicine due to its unique antimicrobial properties. Overused antibiotics have reduced therapeutic effectiveness for microorganisms with various kinds of resistance. S. aureus was used to test honey’s antibacterial properties. It can withstand honey's high sugar and acidity levels and still be vulnerable to hydrogen peroxide's and non-peroxide honey's inhibitory effects. Objectives: This study examined how successfully Manuka UMF +20, fennel, and black seed honey destroy MSSA and MRSA and compared the three honeys' antimicrobial efficacy. Methods: Twenty S. aureus isolates were employed in this investigation. They were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion technique. The sensitivity to methicillin was determined using a 30 µg cefoxitin disk. Manuka UMF +20, fennel, and black seed honeys were tested for their antimicrobial activity against S. aureus isolates by using agar well diffusion (AWD) and agar dilution (AD) methods. Results: According to this work, linezolid and gentamicin were the most sensitive MRSA/MSSA antibiotics. The AWD method showed that all honey types exhibited antibacterial activity against all clinical isolates at 75% (v/v). Concentrations of 18.75% to 37.5% (v/v) honey were required to totally inhibit all clinical isolates. Manuka UMF + 20 honey had the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 18.75% (v/v). While fennel and black seed honeys had higher MIC values (MIC = 37.50% (v/v)). Conclusion: All honeys revealed the potential to suppress the growth of both MSSA and MRSA isolates. Compared to MRSA, Manuka MUF +20 and fennel honey were more efficient against MSSA.