For centuries, people used unprocessed honey to fight infections, but scientists had not yet understood what gives honey this incredible antimicrobial power. A new discovery, however, comes to radically change that. 13 live bacteria were found in the unprocessed honey that kill microbes.
A team of researchers from the University of Lund in Sweden, has identified a unique group of 13 lactic acid (LAB) bacteria that come from the stomach of bees, and are found in unprocessed honey, which has an impressive ability to fight pathogenic bacteria.
These living bacteria produce a number of active microbial compounds, such as hydrogen peroxide, fatty acids and some anesthetics, which can kill other harmful bacteria.
Researchers believe that these living bacteria (LAB) could be used to help with our organism's antibiotic resistance. The team tested these bee bacteria in the laboratory against strains of pathogens that cause serious infections in humans, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which can lead to fatal infections.
The impressive results were published in the International Wound Journal.
The scientists mixed lab with honey and applied it directly to horses that had wounds that could not heal and that were resistant to other treatments.
After using the honey-bacteria mixture, the wounds healed completely.
So far, bee bacteria have been tested on humans only in the laboratory, so we do not know if it will be equally effective for human wounds, but the results to date are extremely promising.
The group explained in a press release that they believe LABs are so powerful because they produce a wide range of substances, which change depending on those of the pathogen they are called to fight.
"Antibiotics are usually an active substance, effective against only a narrow spectrum of bacteria," Tobias Olofsson – the study leader – said in a press release.
"When used live, these 13 lactic acid bacteria produce the right kind of antimicrobial compounds as needed, depending on the threat. It seems that these have worked effectively for millions of years to protect the health of bees against other harmful microorganisms. However, the market's standard-processed honeys do not contain live lactic acid bacteria," he added.
Researchers will now be conducting clinical trials in humans to see if LAB can help treat infections that are resistant to antibiotics.
Unfortunately, however, most of the time, the honey we buy in stores has been processed and with it the LAB it contains. For this reason, it is advisable to choose as little processed honey as possible if we want to enjoy its agile abilities to the maximum.
