Question

Ancient Egyptians used mold grown on bread to treat infections, long before the discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics. It is believed that the Egyptians were the first to make prescriptions for curing infections sometime around 1550 BC. The prescription written like ‘mrht’, ‘byt’ and ‘ftt’ is said to be a blend of lard, honey and lint and was used in the form of a lotion for dressing wounds.

We are aware that honey possesses antibacterial properties, as it kills bacterial cells by ...

Answer 1

Honey possesses antibacterial properties as it maintains a moist wound condition.

The high viscosity contained by honey helps provide a protective layer or a barrier against infection. It also has an immunomodulatory property which is deemed very relevant in repairing wounds too. It does not have antibacterial properties but anti-microbial too. The antimicrobial capacity of honey is caused by the enzymatic production of hydrogen peroxide.

However, when the hydrogen peroxide activity of a non-peroxide honey is blocked, antibacterial effects starts to manifest.