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"Honey, can you take a look at this?" I'm sure many women
have heard this phrase from the DIY man in their life at one time or another.
Wounds from cuts, scrapes, and scratches are part of daily life. They can be caused
by simple accidents, surgery, and minor medical procedures. Typically the
treatment is some water, Neosporin, and a Band-Aid. But sometimes the wound can
become infected or chronic (non-healing) and pose a health risk. A new
treatment for this type of wound is pretty sweet; Manuka honey has been shown
to clear chronic wound infections and prevent them from developing in the first
place.
Image Credit: Carmen
Martínez Banús
The Stick
Approximately seven million Americans suffer from chronic
wounds. A chronic wound is defined as a wound that doesn't start to heal within
four weeks or hasn't healed within eight weeks. The highest risk groups are
persons with diabetes, ulcers, peripheral neuropathy (nerve disorders affecting
the hands or feet), peripheral vascular disorders (impeding blood circulation),
occlusive disease (causes blockages in major arteries), and insect bites. If
left untreated, chronic wounds can lead to serious infections, gangrene, and
sometimes amputation.
The cause of a chronic wound varies from patient to
patient but Streptococcus pyogenes is
a normal skin bacterium that is frequently associated with chronic wounds. S. Pyogenes is found in most health
humans and is considered an "opportunist" bacterium because it only causes
infection when the host is already weakened. It is most commonly associated
with strep throat and scarlet fever. The cell wall of S. pyogenes contains M proteins, which play a major role in its
virulence. The protein is heat and acid resistant which aids in its attachment
to host tissues, and helps the cell resist phagocytosis (the process by which
cells surround and consume foreign particles). S. pyogenes also causes skin conditions such as cellulitus, an
inflammation of the skin and deep tissues. Cellulitus starts at the site of a
minor injury and causes the skin to turn red and swell. It can cause widespread
pain, tenderness of the infected area, blistering of the skin, and fever.
Necrotizing fasciitis (aka the "flesh eating bacteria") is also s. pyogenes. This disease is most likely
to occur in someone with an already weakened immune system and enters into the
body through a minor trauma or surgical wound. It is an extremely quick and
fatal disease which destroys tissue causing fatalities in 30-40% of cases. Streptococcus
pyogenes, which causes strep throat, a common illness in humans Image Credit:Britannica
When S. pyogenes infects
a wound it clumps together to form a 'bioflim'. The biofilm prevents
antibiotics and treatments from reaching the bacteria and promoting chronic
wounds. Therefore, wounds infected with S.
pyogenes often fail to respond to treatments.
The Buzz
Back in April 2011, a study suggested
that honey can reverse antibiotic resistance in three types of common infest
wounds. The group from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff found that
honey can impair the attachment of bacteria to tissues. This is an essential
step for the onset of acute infections. The impairment can also block the
formation of biofilms so antibiotics can attack the bacteria. But they didn't
understand how.
An additional
study was published in the January 2012 edition of Microbiology which determined the in vitro effect of manuka honey against
biofilms and observed if manuka honey disrupted binding of streptococci in
human wound fibrinogen and fibronectin. They found that
manuka honey can specifically inhibit adherence of S.
pyogenes to fibronectin (an adhesive protein
found in the extracellular matrix). This is especially significant with regard
to wound infection because high levels of fibronectin are exposed in wounds as
a consequence of tissue damage, thus providing a ligand to which S.
pyogenes can bind. "Molecules on the
surface of the bacteria latch onto human fibronectin, anchoring the bacteria to
the cell. This allows infection to proceed and biofilms to develop,"
explained Dr Sarah Maddocks who led the study. "We found that honey
reduced the expression of these bacterial surface proteins, inhibiting binding
to human fibronectin, therefore making biofilm formation less likely. This is a
feasible mechanism by which manuka honey minimizes the initiation of acute
wound infections and also the establishment of chronic infections."
The results of the study show that the
use of honey to treat established biofilms for two hours killed up to 85% of
bacteria within the biofilm and prevented new biofilm from developing
Manuka honey is an attractive option for the treatment of
drug-resistant wound infections and has long been acknowledged for its
antimicrobial properties. Ancient civilizations used honey as a topical
treatment of wounds and it is currently a licensed wound-care product around
the world. Manuka honey comes from nectar collected by bees foraging on the
manuka tree in New Zealand. Honey has been reported to inhibit more than 80
species of bacteria and it has properties associated with hydrogen peroxide and
methylglyoxal (a reactive aldehyde that is very toxic to cells). Among the
inhibited bacteria is Pseudomonas
aeruginosa and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA). Image Credit:
new-zealand-manuka-honey.com
What's Next?
There is an ever growing threat that bacteria are becoming
resistant to modern antibiotics and that a new and innovative way of
controlling infections is needed without creating more drug-resistant bacteria.
Manuka honey doesn't encourage the development of honey-resistant bacteria, and
it provides a topical and inexpensive way to eradicate bacteria from wounds.
This will help reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria between
patients. No evidence of honey-resistant bacteria have been reported to date
either.
Currently off-the-shelf honey can't be used to treat wounds because the pasteurization process removes the antibiotic effects. The specific Manuka honey has demonstrated the most promising results so far. To learn all about Manuka Honey, check out this
video.
Image Credit:bee-pollen-health.com
Resources
Wounds
Wound
Management
Streptococcus
pyogenes
Society for General Microbiology (2011, April 12). Honey
can reverse antibiotic resistance, study suggests. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved February 1, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110412201713.htm
Society for General Microbiology (2012,
January 31). Honey could be effective at treating and preventing wound
infections. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 1, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120131205919.htm
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