Antimicrobial activity, physical-chemical and activity antioxidant of honey samples of Apis mellifera from different regions of Paraná, Southern Brazil

Abstract Antimicrobial activity of honey has lately drawn researchers’ attention, especially due to the fact that its antimicrobial capacity has been proven. The aim of this study was analyzing bactericidal and bacteriostatic action in the pathogenic microorganisms Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans of honey samples from five regions of the state of Paraná. Candida albicans yeast showed to be more resistant to honey than the bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The minimal inhibitory concentration found for the three microorganisms tested was 12.5% to 25%. The minimal bactericidal concentration, in its turn, was 25% for bacteria and 25% to 50% for yeast. The samples from the Southern area had the best results for both the minimal inhibitory and the bactericidal concentrations. Through physicochemical and phyto-chemical analysis, we observed that several factors are associated to the bactericidal capacity of honey. In conclusion, honey is an excellent bactericidal agent with a great biotechnological potential. Its properties are directly related to its geographic origin, which gives each type of honey its own characteristics.摘要 蜂蜜的抗菌活性近期备受研究者关注，尤其是其抗菌能力已得到证实的背景下。本研究旨在分析来自巴西巴拉那州五个地区的蜂蜜样品，对致病性微生物金黄色葡萄球菌（Staphylococcus aureus）、大肠杆菌（Escherichia coli）及白色念珠菌（Candida albicans）的杀菌与抑菌活性。相较于大肠杆菌与金黄色葡萄球菌，白色念珠菌对蜂蜜的耐受性更强。本次检测的三种微生物的最小抑菌浓度（minimal inhibitory concentration, MIC）为12.5%至25%。而最小杀菌浓度（minimal bactericidal concentration, MBC）方面，细菌为25%，酵母菌则为25%至50%。来自南部地区的蜂蜜样品，在最小抑菌与杀菌浓度两项指标上均表现最优。通过理化与植物化学分析，我们发现多项因素与蜂蜜的杀菌能力相关。综上，蜂蜜是一种极具生物技术潜力的优质杀菌剂，其抗菌特性与其地理来源直接相关，这也赋予了不同蜂蜜各自独特的属性。