Honey: A Facilitating Medicine for Dermatological Wound Care

Honey is a nutritional food with health-promoting properties. Antiseptics are topical agents that act to prevent growth of microorganisms. A range of Apis florea bee honey from Karnataka was used to investigate the prevention of infection and promote healing of wounds in rat models as honey is a tissue-regenerative agent. It contributes to all stages of wound healing, and thus has been used in direct topical application and also in dressings. Most honey samples with various dilutions have proved to possess, significant antibacterial potency against selected bacterial isolates by disc diffusion assay. The Coorg honey of Apis florea species showed highest antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) with 19.26±0.23 mm and the least susceptibility was recorded for bacterial strain Erwinia nigrifluens (ATCC 21922) with 8.97±0.48 mm. The Kolar honey of Apis florea species showed highest antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus (ATCC 31443) with 8.79±0.16 mm and least susceptibility was recorded for Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) with 7.01±0.55 mm. The Bengaluru honey of Apis florea species showed highest antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) with 9.95±0.23 mm and least susceptibility was recorded for E. coli (ATCC 25891) with 6.27±0.22 mm. The present study also checked the wound healing ability of honey when applied topically in several rat models. The control rats were healed by 20 ± 1.07 days. The Kanamycin treated rats were healed on 10±1.45 days. 13 ±1.07days were recorded to heal the wounds by Apis florea honey samples of Abbe Falls, Coorg regions. 18 ±1.54 days and 17 ±1.03 days were recorded against Champion Reef regions of Kolar district and Varthur regions of Bengaluru district.