Synergistic Antibacterial Effect of Apis Florea Bee Honey and Ciprofloxacin on Pathogenic Bacteria

Abstract

Honey is a natural gift to man from Mother Nature which is made available to us from the mysterious kingdom of the bees. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the synergistic antibacterial effect between the Apis honey and common antibiotic ciprofloxacin on multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria. Fifteen honey samples of Apis florea were harvested from various geographical areas of Coorg, Karnataka during 2020-2021. The honey samples and ciprofloxacin were subjected to Determination of antibacterial potency by Antibacterial disc diffusion assay separately against the test bacteria. Then followed Screening for synergistic activity and Data Analysis. The findings of the present study revealed that synergistic antibacterial sensitivity with inhibitory zones that were formed in the cultures against the selected bacterial strains showed significant variations. The highest antibacterial activity was recorded against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) with 19.26 ± 0.23 mm. However, the least sensitivity range was recorded for Erwinia nigrifluens (ATCC 21922) with 8.97± 0.48 mm. Bacillus cereus (ATCC 31443) showed mm, ZI of 13.74±0.37, Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 32441) with 12.99±0.27, Burkholderia glumae (ATCC 25813) with 11.87± 0.58, E.coli (ATCC 25891) with 14.95± 0.41 mm, Klebseilla sp.(ATCC 31482) with 12.11± 0.59, Pseudomonas aerugenosa (ATCC 287858) with 17.53± 0.72 mm. The research findings of the present study on the synergistic antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin and Apis florea honey on pathogenic bacteria showed potential usefulness of honey and antibiotics together in the clinical practice against the pathogenic effects of strains of bacteria.