THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF HONEY 2. Variation in the potency of the antibacterial activity

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand Introduction Honey is gaining acceptance by the medical profession for use as an antibacterial agent for the treatment of ulcers and bed sores, and other surface infections resulting from burns and wounds 4,135 . In many cases it is being used with success on infections not responding to standard antibiotic and antiseptic therapy. Its effectiveness in rapidly clearing up infection and promoting healing is not surprising in light of the large number of research findings on its antibacterial activity, covered in Part 1 of this review (Bee World 73(1): 5-28, 1992).