Comparison of antibacterial activities of some kinds of honey in Vietnam

Abstract

Honey is a natural product with a variety of uses. The antibacterial activity of honey is one of the key factors that make honey beneficial. The study aims to compare some quality index and antibacterial capacity of some main kinds of honey in Vietnam (determined by the diameters of the inhibition zones, the minimum inhibitory concentration - MIC, and the bactericidal concentrations - MBC). The results showed that the honey samples met the quality requirements of TCVN 12605:2019  for honey, including free reducing sugar content (ranging 67 - 72 g/100 g), diastase activity (ranging from 5.58 ± 0.46 to 25.27 ± 0.05 Schad), HMF (5-Hydroxymethylfurfural) content (ranging from 18.06 ± 0.09 to 23.80 ± 0.25 mg/kg). All honey samples exhibited antibacterial activity against all eight strains of bacteria studied as follows: the diameters of the inhibition zones ranged from 8.50 ± 0.29 to 22.33 ± 1.53 (mm), MIC ranged from 0.15 ± 0.00 to 0.90 ± 0.14 (g/mL). Honey from coffee and rubber flowers showed strong bactericidal ability at MBC concentration from 0.25 g/mL.