Screening for antibacterial activity of two jujube honey samples collected from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Emad Mohamed Abdallah, Arafa I. Hamed

Background: Honey produced by Apis mellifera is well-known of its nutritional and ther-apeutic effectiveness since ancient times. However, its properties vary according to the vegetation cover in each area, which requires scientific verification.Materials and Methods: Two samples of natural jujube honey, from northcentral and southwestern Saudi Arabia, from Buraidah and Najran, respectively, was screened using disc diffusion test against seven referenced bacterial strains, namely, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Bacillus cereus ATCC 10876, Escherichia coli ATCC 35218, Klebsiella pneumoniaeATCC 700603, and K. pneumoniae ATCC 27736.Results: Both samples showed significant antibacterial activity on Gram-positive bac-teria and weak or no activity on Gram-negative bacteria although honey sample from Buraidah exhibited higher antibacterial efficacy overall.Conclusion: According to the current study, the antibacterial characteristics of honey may be dependent on its source and origin. These honeys merit future follow-up in human trials.