Investigation of pollen analysis and antimicrobial effects of honey from Posof (Ardahan) district

This study aimed to determine the pollen composition and antimicrobial activity of honey samples from Posof District, Ardahan Province, located in the Eastern Anatolia region of Türkiye. A total of 29 honey samples were collected from various villages in Posof. As a result of melissopalynological analysis in these honey samples, 19 different plant families were identified. A total of 18 honey samples were identified as monofloral, while the remaining 11 were classified as multifloral. One sample was dominated by pollen from the Cistaceae family, while the dominant pollen in other monofloral honey samples belonged to the Fabaceae family. The most abundant pollen types in the honey samples were Fabaceae (40.5%), Rosaceae (11.7%), Lamiaceae (9.3%), Boraginaceae (7.5%), and Cistaceae (7.2%). Antimicrobial activity of the honey samples was tested at different concentrations (0.50%, 0.25%, 0.125%) against eight bacterial strains, including Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25925), and Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29219), and Gram-negative bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 700603), Escherichia coli (O157:H7 RSSK 09007), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Escherichia coli (ATCC 35218), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) using the disc diffusion method.