Bactericidal activity of different types of honey against clinical and environmental isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

OBJECTIVES: Honey has had a valued place in traditional medicine for centuries. Renewed interest in honey for various therapeutic purposes, including treatment of infected wounds, has led to the search for different types of honey with antibacterial activity. In this study, we have assessed the antibacterial activity of different types of honey (manuka honey from Australia, heather honey from the United Kingdom, and locally marketed Indian honey). METHODS: The agar dilution method was used to assess the antibacterial activity of honey against 152 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by determining minimum inhibitory concentrations. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The locally available (khadikraft) honey produced the best activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and was found to be better than all of the imported varieties of therapeutic honey.