Honey-Medicated Dressing: Transformation of an Ancient Remedy Into Modern Therapy

Abstract

Honey has been applied for medicinal purposes since ancient times. Its antibacterial effects have been established during the past few decades. Still, modern medical practitioners hesitate to apply honey for local treatment of wounds. This may be explained by the expected messiness of such local application. Moreover, secondary infectious disease may be caused by contamination of honey with microorganisms. Hence, if honey is to be applied for medicinal purposes, it has to meet certain criteria. The authors evaluated the use and safety of a honey-medicated dressing that was developed to meet these criteria in a feasibility (phase II) study featuring 60 patients with chronic (n = 21), complicated surgical (n = 23), or acute traumatic (n = 16) wounds. In all but 1 patient, it was found easy to apply, helpful in cleaning the wounds, and without side effects. Based on these results, the authors advise to subject this dressing to a randomized, double blind, phase III study.

Effects of Nigella sativa (Kalonji) and Honey on Lipid Profile of Hyper lipidemic Smokers

“…The overall anti-hyper lipidemic effect of acacia honey is probably due to a concentration of free radicals by antioxidants flavonoids. Natural honey has been used since long both in medical and domestic needs, 28 however, most of the previous studies are focused on honey's effects against hyper lipidemia and production of free radicals 25,26 but only recently as an anti-oxidant. The fact that the anti-oxidants have several preventive effects against different diseases, such as cancer, coronary diseases, inflammatory, disorders, neurological degeneration, and aging led to research for food rich in anti-oxidants.…”

Commercial dressings for burns versus sweet ancient remedy

“…Moreover, secondary infectious disease may be caused by contamination of honey with microorganisms [7,16]. While the use of honey as a wound dressing has been recognised, at least since Egyptian times circa 2,000 BC, it is only more recently, due to the development and licensing of modern honey wound dressings, that such dressings have become more widely available and used in wound management [17,18].…”

Study on Antibacterial Efficacy of Different Honey Types in Southwestern Nigeria Against Wound Associated Bacteria

“…The belief that honey is a nutrient, a drug, and an ointment has been supported in present day studies, and thus, an alternative of Study on antibacterial effi cacy of diff erent honey types in South Western Nigeria against wound associated bacteria medicine called apitherapy has been developed in recent years, treatments based on honey and other bee products against many diseases including bacterial infections [7]. In addition, honey is said to be hygroscopic which means that it can draw moisture from the environment thereby leading to dehydration [10,11] low pH and high sugar content (osmolarity) can also prevent microbial growth [12]. The healing properties of honey can be attributed to the fact that it offers antibacterial activity against many organisms [13,14], maintains protective barrier to prevent other infection [15].…”