Antibacterial activity of Turkish honey against selected foodborne pathogens

Abstract

Honey is an important animal product that is consumed by people of all ages and has become an important antimicrobial agent because it has both antibacterial properties and does not cause microbial resistance. Although, Turkey is among the most important honey producers of the world, there are not enough studies about the antibacterial activity of Turkish honey. According to their geographical area, honey exhibit considerable and variable antimicrobial activity. In this study, we investigated the in vitro antibacterial effect of honey obtained from Turkey, against Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus by using agar dilution, agar well diffusion and disc diffusion methods and compared the efficacy of these methods. Results showed the antibacterial effects of Turkish honey, collected from different regions against selected pathogens. Different concentrations of all honey samples displayed an antibacterial activity. Each microorganism exhibited different sensitivity to the honey tested. In addition, a significant difference was detected between the three methods for each microorganism and well diffusion method was found to be the most sensitive method.

Keywords

• Agar dilution,agar-well diffusion,antimicrobial effect,disc diffusion,honey

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