Susceptibility of multidrug-resistant enteric pathogenic diarrheal bacteria to Saudi Honey.

Infectious diarrhea remains the second leading cause of death in children. Initially, the antibacterial activity of saudi honey and Manuka honey was screened using the agar diffusion assay and the minimum inhibitory concentrations using the micro broth dilutions assay in the presence and absence of catalase. Moreover, the physicochemical properties of all tested honey were evaluated and included: density, pH, carbohydrates, moisture content, and total phenols were determined. Manuka honey diluted in sterile distilled water in the absence of catalase inhibited the growth of bacteria tested at a concentration of 8.3±0.4% v/v. While, the Saudi Talh honey inhibit the bacterial growth at 15.3±0.57% v/v. In the presence of a catalase, the bacterial growth was completely inhibited by Manuka honey at 11.3±0.4% v/v dilutions, whereas Talh honey inhibited bacterial growth at 22.3±0.5% v/v. In the other hand, an artificial honey solution inhibited bacterial growth at 30±0.0% dilutions. The results showed that different types of Saudi honey had antibacterial activities against common pathogenic bacteria causing diarrhea. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of action and to identify active components in Saudi honey, which are responsible for antibacterial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]