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Honey can help kill antibiotic-resistant microorganisms
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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One of the latest studies by scientists has shown that honey, which has long established itself as one of the effective means in wound healing, also has the ability to combat the resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to antibiotics.
Resistance of pathogenic microflora to antibacterial drugs develops over time and as a result antibiotics become ineffective, and a person remains defenseless against infection. In this regard, all health protection departments call for the use of antibacterial drugs only as a last resort and continue to search for ways that would help control and combat the resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics.
Numerous studies have shown that honey can be a significant aid in the fight against infectious diseases. Honey's unusual properties include its ability to affect infection on several levels, making it harder for bacteria to develop resistance. Honey contains an enzyme that promotes the production of hydrogen peroxide, organic acids, and flavonoids. It also contains high levels of sugar and polyphenols, which destroy microorganisms at the cellular level. As the research team notes, the high sugar content in honey causes an osmotic effect, which causes water to be drawn out of bacterial cells, which ultimately leads to their death. In addition, other studies have shown that honey can also inhibit bacteria's ability to communicate with each other, control their own behavior by secreting molecular signals, and create biofilms. Scientists note that honey disrupts bacteria's ability to communicate and control their behavior, which reduces the activity of pathogenic microorganisms and increases their sensitivity to antibacterial drugs. Some bacteria, using a similar system of interaction, are able to control the production of toxins that affect the pathogenicity of microflora and their ability to provoke disease.
Also, one of the main advantages of honey, according to experts, is its targeted action on blocking bacterial enzymes associated with the growth of microorganisms, while antibiotics do not have such an effect. Most antibacterial drugs become ineffective over time, since bacteria develop resistance to their mechanism of action, and they simply do not react to them.
Numerous laboratory and some clinical studies in this area have also confirmed the presence of antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial effects in honey against many microorganisms. The research group conducted a more in-depth study of the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of honey. As they noted, standard testing of the antioxidant effect of honey, isolation and determination of antioxidant polyphenolic compounds were conducted. The antibacterial effect of honey against various pathogenic microorganisms was also studied, for example, honey showed good efficiency against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus.
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