Compound in Honey Found to Kill Bacteria

New research clarifies for the first time how honey destroys bacteria. Specifically, the findings show that bees make a protein that they add to the honey, called defensin-1, which could one day be used to treat burns and skin infections and to develop new drugs that could combat antibiotic-resistant infections.

"We have completely elucidated the molecular basis of the antibacterial activity of a single medical-grade honey, which contributes to the applicability of honey in medicine,” stated Sebastian A.J. Zaat, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the department of medical microbiology at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). "Honey or isolated honey-derived components might be of great value for prevention and treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”

To produce the findings, Dr. Zaat and colleagues examined the antibacterial activity of medical-grade honey in test tubes against a panel of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria. They devised a method to selectively neutralize the known antibacterial factors in honey and determine their individual antibacterial contributions. Finally, the researchers isolated the defensin-1 protein, which is part of the honeybee immune system and is added by bees to honey. After examination, the scientists concluded that most of honey's antibacterial properties come from that protein. This information also provides insights into the inner processes of honeybee immune systems, which may one day help breeders create healthier and heartier honeybees.

The research was published in the July 2010 issue of the FASEB [Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology] Journal. "We've known for millennia that honey can be good for what ails us, but we haven't known how it works,” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., editor-in-chief of the FASEB Journal, "Now that we've extracted a potent antibacterial ingredient from honey, we can make it still more effective, and take the sting out of bacterial infections.”

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Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam