The current investigation was conducted to assess the melissopalynological, physicochemical, and biochemical properties, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities as well as total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of 794 Sidr honey samples collected from the Saudi market that had been imported from 12 different countries. Testing Sidr honey from different countries showed different levels of growth suppression observed against five drug resistant bacterial strains. The pathogenic strains were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antimicrobial activity showed growth suppression levels which varied according to the origin of the honey. The comparative study of Sidr honeys revealed a strong correlation between total polyphenol and flavonoid contents and significant radical scavenging activities in particular Egyptian and Saudi Arabian honeys. The melissopalynological and physicochemical properties of different Sidr honeys complied with the recommendations of the WHO Codex Alimentarius, the European Union standards for honey quality, and the Gulf Technical Regulation on honey (GSO 147:2008-Standards Store-GCC Standardization Organization). It was concluded that Sidr honey from different geographical areas has the capacity to suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria and perform significant radical scavenging activities.

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The aim of the current study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity and to analyse the physicochemical properties of some Egyptian honey of different botanical origin in comparison with Manuka honey from New Zealand. Antibacterial activity of Egyptian honey of different floral origin was evaluated against five reference bacterial strains including both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria using well diffusion method. Pollen analysis was used to confirm the floral origin of honey. Meanwhile, the physicochemical parameters including total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were measured to assess the quality of honey. Some honey types including Flowers, Aashab, Bardakosh, and Black seed honey showed significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) when compared with clindamycin. The same types of honey, except Black seed honey exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Citrobacter diversus (ATCC 13315). The total phenolic and total flavonoid contents ranged from 130.5±9.0 to 175.3±11.3 mg GAE/100 g honey and 22.3±1.7–30.9±2.6 mg RE/100 g honey, respectively. The results indicated that Egyptian honey is a promising natural product that can be potentially used as an alternative to synthetic antibiotics. Authentication of honey through the investigation of its physicochemical characteristics is a very important determinant of its biological activity. Separation and investigation of the antimicrobial activity of each of the active compounds of honey will provide more information on the efficacy and the mechanism of its biological activity. Further studies are still needed to identify and standardise protocols for the use of honey either in the protection against or the treatment of microbial infections.

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This study was conducted to assess the bioactive value of Tamarix gallica honey samples collected from three countries. In total, 150 Tamarix gallica honey samples from Saudi Arabia (50), Libya (50), and Egypt (50) were collected and compared, based on the results of the melissopalynological analysis, their physicochemical attributes, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, and biochemical properties, together with their total phenolic and total flavonoid contents. Depending on the geographical origin, we observed different levels of growth suppression for six resistant bacterial strains. The pathogenic microorganisms tested in this study were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There was a strong correlation between the polyphenol and flavonoid contents, as well as significant (p < 0.05) radical scavenging activities. The melissopalynological analysis and physicochemical properties complied with the recommendation of the Gulf and Egyptian Technical Regulations on honey, as well as the Codex Alimentarius of the World Health Organization and the European Union Normative related to honey quality. It was concluded that Tamarix gallica honey from the three countries has the capacity to suppress pathogenic bacterial growth and has significant radical scavenging activities. Moreover, these findings suggest that Tamarix gallica honey may be considered as an interesting source of antimicrobial compounds and antioxidants for therapeutical and nutraceutical industries or for food manufacturers.