Re: antibacterial effects of honey

It is not clear what the properties are that make honey antibacterial. If it were just hydrogen peroxide, it would be just as well to use pharmaceutical grade peroxide. After having seen a variety of honey houses over the years, I am not so sure I would want just any honey daubed in an open wound on my body.

> In a study of some Jamaican honeys, the activity of the two most active honeys was not reduced by steam-sterilizing. In three less active ones it was reduced by boiling, and in the least active honey it was destroyed by boiling. Activity with a very high stability to heating has also been found in New Zealand manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey and other honeys of unspecified floral source. A study of some Romanian honeys found that conifer honeydew honey, which had exceptionally high activity, contained a heat-stable as well as a heat-sensitive antibacterial factor. Heat-stable activity has been reported in other honeys also.

Molan, P. C. (1992). The antibacterial activity of honey: 1. The nature of the antibacterial activity. Bee World, 73(1), 5-28.

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