Antibacterial activity of honey (<em>Apis mellifera</em>) on <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia</em> and <em>Escherichia coli</em> isolated from wastewater

• Main Authors: T. O. Agbabiaka, O. J. Awelogun, F. O. Otuyelu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka 2020-12-01
• Series: Ceylon Journal of Science
• Subjects: disc diffusion, macrodilutio
• Online Access: https://cjs.sljol.info/articles/7827
• ISSN: 2513-2814; 2513-230X

The use of honey as a remedy for microbial infections has been the reason behind recent researches on its antimicrobial activity. The research assessed the antibacterial activity of honey on <em>Eschericia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae </em>isolated from environmental wastewater, using disc diffusion method at various concentrations of honey ranging from 62.5 - 1000 mg/ml while the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) were determined using macro-dilution method. The zones of inhibition across the disc were measured after 24 hours of incubation. Results showed that honey has higher antibacterial activity on <em>E. coli </em>compared to other test isolates and also higher on <em>E. coli </em>than ciprofloxacin. Honey showed weaker activity on <em>K. pneumoniae </em>and <em>P. aeruginosa </em>compared to standard antibiotics. MIC was 250 mg/ml for <em>E. coli </em>while <em>K. pneumoniae </em>and <em>P. aeruginosa </em>were at 500 mg/ml. MBC for <em>E. coli, K. pneumoniae </em>and <em>P. aeruginosa </em>were observed at 312. 5 mg/ml, 687.5 mg/ml and 750 mg/ml respectively. Honey has promising antibacterial activity on infections caused by <em>E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa </em>because of its antibacterial properties such as low pH, high osmolarity, and production of hydrogen peroxide.