Antibacterial action of honey on oral streptococci.

The antibacterial properties of honey against medically important bacteria have been well documented but this information is not available for the oral bacteria and specifically for the oral streptococci. We determined the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of honey for oral streptococci. Honey had a MIC of 25 per cent (vol/vol) for the bacteria tested with the exception of Streptococcus anginosus and Streptococcus oralis which were inhibited by 17 per cent (vol/vol) and 12 per cent (vol/vol) honey respectively. The hypertonic sugar control had a MIC of 25 per cent (vol/vol) for all the bacteria tested. Although the results of this study indicate that there could be other antibacterial agents present in the honey, it may be assumed that the hypertonic sugar concentration played an important role in this activity.