Natural antibacterial characteristics of honey

Abstract

Honey was used as a medicine in traditional medicine of the Ancient Times ever since the age of Hippocrates. Scientifically based investigations of the medicinal qualities of honey date back to the 19th century. There have been constant polemics, about the medicinal characteristics of honey and parameters that cause them, among scientists and apiculture experts. In this paper, we processed much data from literature, which indicate the antibacterial characteristics of honey through the experimental results that have been presented. The factors which lead to honey possessing these characteristics are: somotic effect, acidity, effect of hydrogen peroxide and others. The priority in today’s investigations is to prove the effects and safety of using honey as an alternative to conventional forms of treatment of skin diseases, gastro-intestinal infections in the area of medicine, and the treatment of mastitis and wounds in the area of veterinary medicine.

Med se koristio kao lek u antičkoj tradicionalnoj medicini još od vremena Hipokrata. Najnovija istraživanja, naučno zasnovana, o lekovitosti meda potiču iz 19. veka. Polemike o lekovitim svojstvima meda i parametrima koji to omogućavaju vode se stalno među naučnicima i pčelarima. Veliki je broj podataka iz literature koje smo u ovom radu obradili, a koji nas upućuju na antibakterijska svojstva meda preko eksperimentalnih podataka koji su navedeni. ČInioci koji omogućavaju da med poseduje ova svojstva su: osmotski efekat, kiselost, delovanje vodonik peroksida i drugi. Prioritet u današnjim istraživanjima je dokazivanje efekta i bezbednosti upotrebe meda kao alternative konvencionalnim oblicima tretmana za kožne bolesti, gastro-intestinalne infekcije na polju medicine i tretiranje mastitisa i rana na polju veterine.