Anti microbial activity of honey against various endodontic micro organisms-an in vitro study

To evaluate the antimicrobial effect of honey as root canal medicament against common endodontic microflora in comparison to some common antimicrobials/ standard drugs. different concentrations of honey were studied in vitro against staphylococcus aureus atcc 6538,escherichia coli atcc 25853 and pseudomonas aeriginosa atcc 27853 - and its activity compared with commonly used antimicrobials - ampicillin and gentamycin. the experiment was done using disc diffusion test. culture plates were incubated. zones of inhibition were measured after 24 hours. results were analysed statistically using anova test. the antibacterial action of honey was observed at 50% as well as the neat concentration. neat honey showed greater activity than 50% honey regardless of the organism. however honey showed greatest activity against s. aureus and least against p. aeriginosa. both the antimicrobials showed better activity than honey at all concentrations. ampicillin (penicillin) exerted a greater potency than gentamycin (aminoglycoside),except with pseudomonas aeriginosa. the study showed that honey,like antibiotics,has certain organisms sensitive to it,and provides alternative therapy against certain bacteria and is also known to have antimicrobial action against a broad spectrum of bacteria.