Antibacterial action of natural honey on anaerobic bacteroides.

Two samples of natural Honey were tested for their antibacterial effect on Bacteroides, mainly the pathogenic black pigmented B. melaninogenicus isolated from ten cases of dental infections (dental abscesses and chronic osteomyelitis). These organisms were subjected to the effect of natural and diluted honey (50%), in broth and solid cultures. The results were compared with those of the same organisms incubated with saturated glucose solution, which showed less inhibition, indicating that the inhibitory effect of honey was not due to its high sugar content nor to its acidic PH, when using Schaedler's broth adjusted to the same PH as control. The local therapeutic value of natural honey was illustrated with an attempt to correlate between the microbial findings and the clinical implications.