Honey: Antimicrobial and Anti-infective Function

Dear Colleagues,

Infections are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide and can be mediated by bacteria, fungi, or viruses. The increasing antimicrobial resistance is a major challenge and demands novel effective treatment options. For this reason, an increasing amount of attention is being paid to activities related to the use of new or rediscovered preventive and curative approaches within the framework of antimicrobial stewardship. Honey may be a potent solution that has been used in traditional medicine.

Honey exerts a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses, including in cases of antimicrobial resistance. In addition, honey can be used as a pre- and probiotic, can change the microbiota, and has immunomodulatory activities. This combination helps to clear pathogens and makes honey an effective treatment for all kinds of ailments. For example, clinical studies have demonstrated that medical-grade honey (MGH) is effective in the treatment of respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal infections, tuberculosis, mucositis, cold sores, and COVID-19. More studies investigating the antimicrobial activity of honey, its molecular mechanisms, and clinical efficacy in different indications are needed to further implement honey in evidence-based medicine.

This Special Issue welcomes submissions of original research and review articles that investigate the antimicrobial activity and mechanisms of MGH, and the wide range of its clinical applications, including preclinical studies in vitro and/or in vivo, case series, and other clinical studies. 

Dr. Niels Cremers
Dr. Juraj Majtan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.