Antimicrobial activity of Egyptian Sidr honey and its synergistic action with antimicrobial agents

Now the world’s hope of getting rid of infectious diseases is by reaching to more effective and safe antimicrobial agents. The low cost of maintenance and local availability give honey valuable advantages to using it as an alternative antimicrobial therapy. The antimicrobial activity of honey depending on physical-chemical properties, total phenols contents, geographic area and botanical resource. Nowadays, Upper Egyptian Sidr honey (UESH) became produced commercially; the issue entails determination of its antimicrobial activity against multidrug resistant (MDR) different bacterial strains. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine in vitro antibacterial potential of Upper Egyptian Sidr honey against five references (3 Gram +ve and 2 Gram –ve) bacterial strains and its synergistic effect with some antimicrobial agents. Material & Methods: fifteen Sidr honey samples were collected from several apiaries located in three different governorates (Sohag, Qena and Luxor) in Upper Egypt. Honey samples were tested against 5 reference bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus B – 261, Streptococcus agalactiae AUMC B – 253, Escherichia coli AUMC B – 243 and Klebsiella pneumoniae AUMC B – 257 known as multidrug-resistant bacteria; as well as Bacillus cereus AUMC B - 100; to represent the spore-forming bacteria species known to cause food poisoning) using agar diffusion method. Post determination of MIC values, six honey samples were examined for their synergistic action with the resistant antimicrobial agents. Results: In vitro antimicrobial sensitivity test all reference bacterial strains showed multidrug resistance action (MDR) against the 13 tested antimicrobial agents with high multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index as ≥ 0.38. They achieved growth inhibition when be tested against all Sidr honey samples with different MIC values (11.6 – 18.8 %) with overall mean 15.16 ± 3.77 %. Sidr honey samples collected from Sohag revealed the best antimicrobial action since it's in vitro testing showed MIC 13.6 % followed by samples of Qena and Luxor as 14.36 & 17.96 % respectively. All Sidr honey samples, showed best synergistic action with all antimicrobial agents against Staph. aureus and Strept. agalactiae as change them from resistant to sensitive to the antimicrobial and restored methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sensitive to Cloxacillin being methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MESSA). Conclusion: All UESH samples have growth inhibitory effect on all tested Gram positive or negative bacteria and showed synergistic action with the most tested antimicrobial agents. Recommendation: Antibacterial activity of locally available UESH honey could be potentially used as api-therapeutic agents against multidrug-resistant and foodborne bacteria.