Honey having antibacterial properties has been known for more than a century. Although it has been used as a medicine since ancient times in many cultures, in its ancient usage there was no recognition of its antibacterial properties. ­It was just known to be an effective remedy. This is not surprising considering that it is only since the latter part of the last century that it has become known that many ailments are the result of infection by micro-organisms. Now it can be recognized that the effectiveness of honey in many of its medical uses is probably due to its antibacterial activity.

It is well established that honey inhibits a broad spectrum of bacterial species. There are many reports of bactericidal as well as bacteriostatic activity. There have also been reports of honey having anti-fungal activity. These numerous reports of the antimicrobial activity of honey have been comprehensively reviewed. "The collation of data shows that honey is active against a wide range of bacterial and fungal species, many of which cause infections," says Frank Buonanotte, CEO of Honeymark International, a manufacturer of health care products containing honey as an antimicrobial agent.  However, there are ailments which may be treated with honey which have not had the infectious agents tested for their sensitivity to the antimicrobial activity of honey. Also, there has not been much distinction made in the different types of antimicrobial activity in honey to which the various microbial species are sensitive.

Key Factors:

• Osmotic effect Honey is a saturated solution of sugars, 84% being a mixture of fructose and glucose.
• Acidity Honey is characteristically quite acidic, its pH being between 3.2 and 4.5, which is low enough to be inhibitory to many animal pathogens.
• Hydrogen Peroxide The major antibacterial activity in honey has been found to be due to hydrogen peroxide produced enzymically in the honey.
• Phytochemical factors the evidence for the existence of other antibacterial factors is mainly that the peroxide-generating system does not account for all of the observed antibacterial activity, but there have also been some reports of isolation of antibacterial substances from honey that are not hydrogen peroxide.
• Variation in antibacterial activity in almost all reports on the medical use of honey as an antibacterial agent, no consideration is given to the selection of type of honey for therapeutic use.