A study on the effect of storage time on Antibacterial Activity of honey

It is an age old belief that honey improves with age. In our laboratory, we conducted a study on the antibacterial property of honey against burn wound isolates. Honey freshly obtained from forest and commercially available honey was put to test against burn wound isolates. The freshly obtained honey samples showed good antimicrobial effect against burn wound isolates, forest honey showing a better antibacterial effect than commercial products. However the same honey when stored for 1 year and further on for three years showed reduced antimicrobial effect. Hence we can conclude that freshly obtained honey has antimicrobial activity against more number of burn wound isolates as compared to older honey.

Antibacterial property of honey on burn wound isolates does reduce with age. The specific reason for this reduced antibacterial property with respect to age needs further analysis. However on the basis of our findings we can suggest that the antibacterial property of honey must be assayed before any therapeutic use.