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Antibiotics
Volume 9
Issue 11
10.3390/antibiotics9110774
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Review

Honey: Another Alternative in the Fight against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria?

by
Patricia Combarros-Fuertes
1,
José M. Fresno
1,
Maria Manuela Estevinho
2,
Mário Sousa-Pimenta
3,
M. Eugenia Tornadijo
1 and
Leticia M. Estevinho
4,*
1
Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of León, Campus de Vegazana, 24071 León, Spain
2
Department of Biomedicine, Unit of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
3
Department of Onco-Hematology, Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto (IPO-Porto), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
4
Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-252 Bragança, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Antibiotics 2020, 9(11), 774; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9110774
Submission received: 16 October 2020 / Revised: 31 October 2020 / Accepted: 2 November 2020 / Published: 4 November 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Honey Bee Products as an Alternative or Complement to Classical Antibiotics)
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Abstract

Antibacterial resistance has become a challenging situation worldwide. The increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens stresses the need for developing alternative or complementary antimicrobial strategies, which has led the scientific community to study substances, formulas or active ingredients used before the antibiotic era. Honey has been traditionally used not only as a food, but also with therapeutic purposes, especially for the topical treatment of chronic-infected wounds. The intrinsic characteristics and the complex composition of honey, in which different substances with antimicrobial properties are included, make it an antimicrobial agent with multiple and different target sites in the fight against bacteria. This, together with the difficulty to develop honey-resistance, indicates that it could become an effective alternative in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, against which honey has already shown to be effective. Despite all of these assets, honey possesses some limitations, and has to fulfill a number of requirements in order to be used for medical purposes.
Keywords: natural antibiotic; antimicrobial compounds; antibacterial action mechanisms; medical uses; honey-resistance; honey limitations natural antibiotic; antimicrobial compounds; antibacterial action mechanisms; medical uses; honey-resistance; honey limitations

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MDPI and ACS Style

Combarros-Fuertes, P.; Fresno, J.M.; Estevinho, M.M.; Sousa-Pimenta, M.; Tornadijo, M.E.; Estevinho, L.M. Honey: Another Alternative in the Fight against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria? Antibiotics 2020, 9, 774. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9110774

AMA Style

Combarros-Fuertes P, Fresno JM, Estevinho MM, Sousa-Pimenta M, Tornadijo ME, Estevinho LM. Honey: Another Alternative in the Fight against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria? Antibiotics. 2020; 9(11):774. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9110774

Chicago/Turabian Style

Combarros-Fuertes, Patricia, José M. Fresno, Maria Manuela Estevinho, Mário Sousa-Pimenta, M. Eugenia Tornadijo, and Leticia M. Estevinho. 2020. "Honey: Another Alternative in the Fight against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria?" Antibiotics 9, no. 11: 774. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9110774

APA Style

Combarros-Fuertes, P., Fresno, J. M., Estevinho, M. M., Sousa-Pimenta, M., Tornadijo, M. E., & Estevinho, L. M. (2020). Honey: Another Alternative in the Fight against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria? Antibiotics, 9(11), 774. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9110774

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