Hadhramaut honey, tested against drug-resistant bacteria
68.2%
biofilm inhibition, against imipenem's 55.2%
The extract broke up bacterial biofilms more effectively than two reference hospital drugs it was compared against.
What they did
Researchers took Sidr honey collected in Hadhramaut, prepared concentrated extracts, and tested them against eight drug-resistant bacteria and fungi — then used computer modelling to work out which compounds were responsible.
What they found
The extract broke up bacterial biofilms more effectively than two reference hospital drugs it was compared against.
% inhibition — higher is stronger
The honey in this study came from Hadhramaut — the same governorate our honey comes from — which makes it more directly relevant than work on Saudi or Pakistani Sidr.
Biofilms are the protective layers bacteria build around themselves, and they are a large part of why some infections are hard to shift. Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa the honey extract inhibited biofilm formation by 68.2%, compared with 55.2% for imipenem. Against Candida albicans it managed 62.6% against fluconazole's 56.1%. Growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus reached 94.2%.
The computational half of the study identified three specific compounds as the likely active ones: chrysin, ellagic acid and caffeic acid — all naturally occurring plant phenolics.
What this study does not show
- This tested concentrated ethanol extracts of honey, not honey as you would eat it. The extraction process deliberately concentrates these compounds far beyond what is in a spoonful.
- Everything happened in a dish. No animal and no person was involved at any point.
- One honey sample from one collection in November 2021. It says nothing about consistency between harvests.
- The computer modelling produces hypotheses, which the authors are clear still require experimental confirmation.
- Outperforming a hospital antibiotic in a dish is not a reason to use honey instead of one.