The recent study found that lactic acid bacteria found in the honey stomachs of bees has antimicrobial properties.
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered that a group of lactic acid bacteria found in the honey stomachs of honeybees has antimicrobial properties - including the ability to fight MRSA and other human bacteria in the lab - and should be investigated as an alternative to antibiotics.
They report their findings in the International Wound Journal.
Given that people have used fresh honey to heal wounds for thousands of years, it is surprising how little scientists know about the antimicrobial properties of fresh honey.
The Lund researchers are investigating the properties of fresh honey that contains live bacteria, as opposed to the honey that you can buy in stores, which contains only dead bacteria.
Lactic acid bacteria found in fresh honey effective against MRSA and other pathogens
Dr. Tobias Olofsson, a specialist in Medical Microbiology at Lund, and colleagues identified a unique group of 13 lactic acid bacteria in the fresh honey found in the stomachs of honey bees.
The lactic acid bacteria - which live in symbiosis with bees in their stomachs and appear to be involved in the production of honey - produce a range of antimicrobial compounds. The bacteria are present in large amounts in fresh, untreated honey around the world, note the researchers.
In their research, the team used honey that is enriched with lactic acid bacteria taken from the stomachs of bees.
They found the lactic acid bacteria were effective against MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), VRE (vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and other pathogens that cause serious infections in hospital patients and people with weakened immune systems.
The tests on these human pathogen bacteria were carried out in lab cultures - trials in humans have not yet been done.
One of the researchers explains their findings in the video below:
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