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- Title
Antimicrobial Properties of 'Kelulut' (Trigona Spp) Honey.
- Authors
Shahjahan, M.; Halim, Nurul A. Bt A.; N. J., Noor Izani
- Abstract
INTRODUCTION The natural healing power of honey has been well documented. Most accounts on honey involve honey produced by the common honeybee (Apis spp.). Honey produced by stingless bee (Trigona spp.), commonly known as 'Kelulut' in Malaysia, is also known to have medicinal values. 'Kelulut' honey is widely used and consumed by the aborigines and is believed to have better performance than honeybee honey. OBJECTIVES It is claimed that 'Kelulut' honey is more effective than the common honeybee honey as a remedy for many diseases. The current study attempts to evaluate this hypothesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS The 'Kelulut' was tested against several strains of pathogenic bacteria and fungi, which cause common and major infections in humans. For antibacterial evaluation, disk diffusion method was adapted against six strains of bacteria, Streptococcus group A; Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Shigella sonnei, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using different dilutions of honey. The MIC of the honey was determined. Well diffusion assay method was implemented for antifungal screening test. The honey was tested against four pure isolates of fungi; Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans. RESULTS The results showed that all the bacterial strains tested were sensitive to the 'Kelulut' honey. Neat honey produced the best antibacterial activity when compared to dilute one. The clear zone produced by neat honey against Salmonella typhi, Shigella sonnei, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus group A, were 30mm, 28mm, 26mm, 23mm and 24mm respectively. The MIC value for the bacteria tested was between 8.5 mg/ml to 70 mg/ml. However, no antifungal activity was detected against the four species of fungi used. CONCLUSIONS The study proves the potential of 'Kelulut' honey as a wide spectrum antibacterial agent especially against the pathogens tested. Although the honey did not show antifungal activity against the fungi tested, evaluation should be made using other types of fungi to explore the potential of 'Kelulut' honey.
- Subjects
ANTI-infective agents; HONEY; PATHOGENIC microorganisms; FUNGI; ANTIFUNGAL agents
- Publication
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2007, Vol 14, Issue 1, p107
- ISSN
1394-195X
- Publication type
Article