Determination of antimicrobial susceptibility of ethanol, methanol, and acetate extracts of processed honey

Abstract

Odangowei Inetiminebi Ogidi, Patrick Chukwudi Adigwe, Uchechi Emmanuella Enenebeaku, Mike Noah Ayebaboagha

Background and Aim: Honey is one of the oldest traditional medicines considered as the remedy for microbial infections. It is also recognized as an efficacious tropical antimicrobial agent in the treatment of burns and wounds. The aim of the study was to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of ethanol, methanol, and acetate extracts of processed honey.Materials and Methods: The processed honey sample was obtained from local market in Yenagoa. Test organisms were Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella typhi) bacteria and fungi (Aspergillus niger, Mucor mucaralis, Tricophyton tonsurance, Microsporum ferrogenium, and Aspergillus flavus). And, 10-fold serial dilutions were made and plated and antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the agar well-diffusion method. Results: The results of antibacterial activity of the extracts against tested organisms show the diameter of inhibition zone ranging from 4 to 25 mm for S. aureus, 14.5 to 22 mm for E. coli, 16.9 to 20 mm for S. typhi, 1 to 17 mm for B. cereus, and 12.6 to 20 mm for P. aeruginosa, while for antifungal activity show the diameter of inhibition zone ranging from 10.2 to 15 mm for A. niger, M. mucaralis (4 to 7 mm), T. tonsurance (8 to 11 mm), M. ferrogenium (4 to 18 mm), and A. flavus (2 to 8 mm). Conclusion: From the result, test bacteria were found to be more susceptible compared to fungi. The study showed that the honey has antimicrobial activity against test organisms and provides alternative therapy for the inhibition of these pathogenic microorganisms.