Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Manuka Honey Kills Superbugs by Destroying Bacterial Proteins

Manuka Honey Inhibits MRSA Infections by Killing Bacterial Proteins
News-Medical.net, 9/7/2009

Manuka honey may kill bacteria by destroying key bacterial proteins. Dr Rowena Jenkins and colleagues from the University of Wales Institute - Cardiff investigated the mechanisms of manuka honey action and found that its anti-bacterial properties were not due solely to the sugars present in the honey. The work was presented this week (7-10 September), at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was grown in the laboratory and treated with and without manuka honey for four hours. The experiment was repeated with sugar syrup to determine if the effects seen were due to sugar content in honey alone. The bacterial cells were then broken and the proteins isolated and separated on a system that displayed each protein as an individual spot. Many fewer proteins were seen from the manuka honey-treated MRSA cells and one particular protein, FabI, seemed to be completely missing…

"Manuka and other honeys have been known to have wound healing and anti-bacterial properties for some time," said Dr Jenkins, "But the way in which they act is still not known. If we can discover exactly how manuka honey inhibits MRSA it could be used more frequently as a first-line treatment for infections with bacteria that are resistant to many currently available antibiotics".

1 comment:

Antonia - Beauty Health Finance and Green Issues Editor said...

I wanted to post this comment a few weeks ago, but I couldn't find the search function on the site.

Anyway, I have a friend who has a stomach ulcer and I know someone who works in a health food store and my friend with the ulcer was advised to take Manuka honey.

So, Manuka honey is taken with milk every few days and I am pleased to say that we have not had any crying episodes about this. This is a grown adult over 30 years old that I am talking about.

Apparently, the pain of an ulcer is so terrible that it can have the person rolling on the floor and crying.

It appears the Manuka honey is working wonders for this person.