Top

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

Published in:

01-04-2009 | Article

The in vitro susceptibility of Campylobacter spp. to the antibacterial effect of manuka honey

Authors: S. M. Lin, P. C. Molan, R. T. Cursons

Published in: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases | Issue 4/2009

Abstract

We report the antimicrobial effect of manuka honey against Campylobacter spp. isolated by a diagnostic laboratory from specimens from a community in New Zealand. The isolates were differentiated according to species level using multiplex PCR. C. jejuni (20 strains) and C. coli (7 strains) were identified. The clinical isolates identified and type culture collection strains of these species were subjected to testing to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of manuka honey using a microdilution technique. The MIC of the manuka honey against all of the Campylobacter tested was found to be around 1% (v/v) honey. The low MIC values suggest that honey might still inhibit the growth of campylobacteria after dilution by fluid in the gut, but the actual concentration of honey that can be achieved in the intestine is unknown. Therefore, clinical investigation is required to establish the efficacy of honey against Campylobacter spp. in the gut environment.

Allos BM (2001) Campylobacter jejuni infections: update on emerging issues and trends. Clin Infect Dis 32(8):1201–1206 doi:10.1086/319760 PubMedCrossRef

Meldrum RJ, Smith RM, Wilson IG (2006) Three-year surveillance program examining the prevalence of Campylobacter and Salmonella in whole retail raw chicken. J Food Prot 69(4):928–931PubMed

Institute of Environmental Science and Research (2006) Notifiable and other diseases in New Zealand—annual report 2005. Population and Environmental Health Group, Institute of Environmental Science and Research, pp 1–56

Robinson DA (1981) Infective dose of Campylobacter jejuni in milk. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 282:1584

Wallis MR (1994) The pathogenesis of Campylobacter jejuni. Br J Biomed Sci 51(1):57–64PubMed

Meyer A, Stallmach T, Goldenberger D, Altwegg M (1997) Lethal maternal sepsis caused by Campylobacter jejuni: pathogen preserved in placenta and identified by molecular methods. Mod Pathol 10(12):1253–1256PubMed

Peetermans WE, De Man F, Moerman P, van de Werf F (2000) Fatal prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Campylobacter fetus. J Infect 41(2):180–182 doi:10.1053/jinf.2000.0699 PubMedCrossRef

Ang CW, Jacobs BC, Laman JD (2004) The Guillain-Barré syndrome: a true case of molecular mimicry. Trends Immunol 25(2):61–66 doi:10.1016/j.it.2003.12.004 PubMedCrossRef

Smith JL (2002) Campylobacter jejuni infection during pregnancy: long-term consequences of associated bacteremia, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and reactive arthritis. J Food Prot 65(4):696–708PubMed

10.

Delsol AA, Sunderland J, Woodwared MJ, Pumbwe L, Piddock LJV, Roe JM (2004) Emergence of fluoroquinolone resistance in the native Campylobacter coli population of pigs exposed to enrofloxacin. J Antimicrob Chemother 53:872–874 doi:10.1093/jac/dkh150 PubMedCrossRef

11.

Padungton P, Kaneene JB (2003) Campylobacter spp in human, chickens, pigs and their antimicrobial resistance. J Vet Med Sci 65(2):161–170 doi:10.1292/jvms.65.161 PubMedCrossRef

12.

Takayama S, Satake S, Ishihara K (2005) Antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from human diarrheic samples. Kansenshogaku Zasshi 79(3):169–175PubMed

13.

van Boven M, Veldman KT, de Jong MCM, Mevius DJ (2003) Rapid selection of quinolone resistance in Campylobacter jejuni but not in Escherichia coli in individually housed broilers. J Antimicrob Chemother 52(4):719–723 doi:10.1093/jac/dkg402 PubMedCrossRef

14.

Haffejee IE, Moosa A (1985) Honey in the treatment of infantile gastroenteritis. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 290(6485):1866–1867CrossRef

15.

Rolfe RD (2000) The role of probiotic cultures in the control of gastrointestinal health. J Nutr 130:396S–402SPubMed

16.

Molan PC (1992) The antibacterial activity of honey. I. The nature of the antibacterial activity. Bee World 73(1):5–28

17.

Adebolu TT (2005) Effect of natural honey on local isolates of diarrhea-causing bacteria in southwestern Nigeria. Afr J Biotechnol 4(10):1172–1174

18.

Molan PC (1992) The antibacterial activity of honey. II. Variation in the potency of the antibacterial activity. Bee World 73(2):59–76

19.

Allen KL, Molan PC, Reid GM (1991) A survey of the antibacterial activity of some New Zealand honeys. J Pharm Pharmacol 43(12):817–822PubMed

20.

Molan PC, Betts JA (2004) Clinical usage of honey as a wound dressing: an update. J Wound Care 13(9):353–356PubMed

21.

Shannon IL, Edmonds EJ, Madsen KO (1979) Honey: sugar content and cariogenicity. ASDC J Dent Child 46(1):29–33PubMed

22.

National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (2002) Performance standards for antimicrobial disk and dilution susceptibility tests for bacteria isolated from animals: approved standard (M31-A2). NCCLS, Wayne, PA

23.

Silley P (2003) Campylobacter and fluoroquinolones: a bias data set? Environ Microbiol 5(4):219–230 doi:10.1046/j.1462-2920.2003.00425.x PubMedCrossRef

24.

Bolton FJ, Coates D, Hutchinson DN (1984) The ability of Campylobacter media supplements to neutralize photochemically induced toxicity and hydrogen peroxide. J Appl Bacteriol 56(1):151–157PubMed

25.

Corry JEL, Post DE, Laisney MJ (1995) Culture media for the isolation of Campylobacters. Int J Food Microbiol 26:43–76 doi:10.1016/0168-1605(95)00044-K PubMedCrossRef

26.

Allen KL, Molan PC, Reid GM (1991) The variability of the antibacterial activity of honey. Apiacta XXVI:114–121

27.

George HA, Hoffman PS, Smibert RM, Krieg NR (1978) Improved media for growth and aerotolerance of Campylobacter fetus. J Clin Microbiol 8(1):36–41PubMed

28.

Gorman R, Adley CC (2004) An evaluation of five preservation techniques and conventional freezing temperatures of –20 degrees C and −85 degrees C for long-term preservation of Campylobacter jejuni. Lett Appl Microbiol 38:306–310 doi:10.1111/j.1472-765X.2004.01490.x PubMedCrossRef

29.

Ribeiro CD, Marks J, Grimshaw AD (1985) Economic cultivation of “thermophilic” Campylobacter spp. J Clin Pathol 38(11):1311–1312 doi:10.1136/jcp.38.11.1311 PubMedCrossRef

30.

Wang G, Clark CG, Taylor TM, Pucknell C, Barton C, Price L et al (2002) Colony multiplex PCR assay for identification and differentiation of Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli, C. lari, C. upsaliensis, and C. fetus subsp. fetus. J Clin Microbiol 40(12):4744–4747 doi:10.1128/JCM.40.12.4744-4747.2002 PubMedCrossRef

31.

Jett BD, Hatter KL, Huycke MM, Gilmore MS (1997) Simplified agar plate method for quantifying viable bacteria. Biotechniques 23(4):648–650PubMed

32.

R Development Core Team (2007) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna

33.

Cooper RA, Halas E, Molan PC (2002) The efficacy of honey in inhibiting strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from infected burns. J Burn Care Rehabil 23(6):366–370 doi:10.1097/00004630-200211000-00002 PubMedCrossRef

34.

Cooper RA, Molan PC, Harding KG (2002) The sensitivity to honey of Gram-positive cocci of clinical significance isolated from wounds. J Appl Microbiol 93:857–863 doi:10.1046/j.1365-2672.2002.01761.x PubMedCrossRef

35.

French VM, Cooper RA, Molan PC (2005) The antibacterial activity of honey against coagulase-negative staphylococci. J Antimicrob Chemother 56(1):228–231 doi:10.1093/jac/dki193 PubMedCrossRef

36.

Natarajan S, Williamson D, Grey J, Harding KG, Cooper RA (2001) Healing of an MRSA-colonized, hydroxyurea-induced leg ulcer with honey. J Dermatolog Treat 12:33–36 doi:10.1080/095466301750163563 PubMedCrossRef

37.

Al Somal N, Coley KE, Molan PC, Hancock BM (1994) Susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to the antibacterial activity of manuka honey. J R Soc Med 87:9–12PubMed

38.

Cooper RA, Molan PC, Harding KG (1999) Antibacterial activity of honey against strains of Staphylococcus aureus from infected wounds. J R Soc Med 92(6):283–285PubMed

39.

Doyle MP, Roman DJ (1982) Response of Campylobacter jejuni to sodium chloride. Appl Environ Microbiol 43(3):561–565PubMed

40.

Reezal A, McNeil B, Anderson JG (1998) Effect of low-osmolality nutrient media on growth and culturability of Campylobacter species. Appl Environ Microbiol 64(12):4643–4649PubMed

41.

Cuccurullo SJ (2004) Physical medicine and rehabilitation board review. Demos Medical Publishing, New York

42.

Adams CJ, Boult CH, Deadman BJ, Farr JM, Grainger MN, Manley-Harris M et al (2008) Isolation by HPLC and characterisation of the bioactive fraction of New Zealand manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey. Carbohydr Res 343(4):651–659 doi:10.1016/j.carres.2007.12.011 PubMedCrossRef

43.

Mavric E, Wittmann S, Barth G, Henle T (2008) Identification and quantification of methylglyoxal as the dominant antibacterial constituent of Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honeys from New Zealand. Mol Nutr Food Res 52(4):483–489 doi:10.1002/mnfr.200700282 PubMedCrossRef

Title: The in vitro susceptibility of Campylobacter spp. to the antibacterial effect of manuka honey
Authors: S. M. Lin
P. C. Molan
R. T. Cursons
Publication date: 01-04-2009
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases / Issue 4/2009
Print ISSN: 0934-9723
Electronic ISSN: 1435-4373
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-008-0630-3

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Heart Failure Video

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

The in vitro susceptibility of Campylobacter spp. to the antibacterial effect of manuka honey

Abstract

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2009

Osteomyelitis of the jaw: resistance to clindamycin in patients with prior antibiotics exposure

Toxoplasma gondii antibody profile in HIV-infected pregnant women and the risk of congenital toxoplasmosis

Risk factors for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in a tuberculosis unit in Madrid, Spain

Risk factors for opportunistic infections in infliximab-treated patients: the importance of screening in prevention

Community-associated versus healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: a 10-year retrospective review

Effectiveness and safety of simplification from tenofovir-lamivudine (TDF-3TC) to tenofovir-emtricitabine (TDF-FTC) co-formulation (Truvada®) in virologically suppressed HIV-infected patients on HAART

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page