Manuka Honey and Black Seed Oil In Combination as Antimicrobials against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes

Honey is a natural and organic substance known to have antimicrobial activity and be used as an alternative to antibiotics. Many studies have been done that illustrate the positive antimicrobial effects of honey. The mixture of honey with Nigellasativa, often referred to as black seed extract or oil, is a unique study of this combined antimicrobial against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pyogenes. Honey and black seed oil are effective separately as antimicrobials. This could lead to an alternative to fighting microbes besides using antibiotics. The experimental design included an in vitro tryptic soy broth diffusion test with phenol (for S. aureus, P. aeruginosa) and Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion test (for all bacterium) with antibiotic standards with manuka honey and black seed oil agents independently used as well as a mixture of the two agents. For the disc diffusion test, discs impregnated with the test agents were plated on agar plates inoculated separately with the three bacterial types. The manuka honey alone killed some of the S. aureus bacterial cells with a slight effect. The BSO independently was more effective in the Kirby-Bauer procedure as S. aureus and S. pyogenes were susceptible compared to resistant to manuka honey alone and in combination. P. aeruginosa was susceptible only to the combination treatment and not the independent use of the agents. These two agents can have great potential in combination with other natural products and antibiotics against certain bacterial strains that required further testing.