Bacterial biofilms are resilient microbes known to accrue in medical devices like urinary catheters. Among urinary tract infections that occur in hospitals, 75 percent are linked to catheter use, according to the CDC.
For the study, researchers cultured strains Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis bacteria — the two bacteria strains responsible for the majority of CAUTIs — in a laboratory setting. Researchers then treated honey with distilled water at different levels of dilution and assigned the samples different levels of strength. The different honey solutions were then added to the bacteria and sealed for 24, 48 and 72 hours.
Results indicated that manuka honey significantly reduced the bacteria’s stickiness, thereby curbing its ability to form biofilm. At the weakest level (3.3 percent), the solution reduced stickiness by 35 percent after 48 hours. The greatest effect was seen after three days at the highest level (16.7 percent), which reduced bacterial stickiness by 77 percent.
“We have been able to demonstrate that diluted honey is potentially a useful agent for reducing biofilm formation on indwelling plastic devices such as urinary catheters,” said Bashir Lwaleed, PhD, associate professor with the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and one of the study’s authors. “We hope that these results may offer an alternative way of preventing such infections. We believe that patients might also benefit from honey’s anti-inflammatory properties, which are generally stronger in dark honeys, such as Manuka and that antibacterial resistance is unlikely to be a factor when honey is used.”
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