Honey Targets Staph Infection’s Cell Division Machinery

The Intracellular Effects of Manuka Honey on Staphylococcus aureus
Journal European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, October 08, 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of manuka honey on Staphylococcus aureus in order to identify the intracellular target site.

…A bactericidal mode of inhibition for manuka honey on S. aureus was established. Marked structural changes in honey-treated cells were seen only with TEM, where a statistically significant increase in the number of whole cells with completed septa compared to untreated cells were observed.

Structural changes found with TEM suggest that honey-treated cells had failed to progress normally through the cell cycle and accumulated with fully formed septa at the point of cell division without separating. Sugars were not implicated in this effect. The staphylococcal target site of manuka honey involves the cell division machinery.