In vitro study of bacterial growth inhibition in concentrated sugar solutions: microbiological basis for the use of sugar in treating infected wounds.

The use of sugar for the treatment of infected wounds was investigated in in vitro experiments with bacteria pathogenic to humans, such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus. Studies showed that solutions of appropriate sugar concentration incubated at pH 7.0 and 35 degrees C were lethal to the bacterial species studied. On the basis of these results, it is proposed that an important function of sugar in the treatment of infected wounds is to create an environment of low water activity (aw), which inhibits or stresses bacterial growth.