EVALUATION OF THE ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF CERTAIN IRRADIATED AND NON- IRRADIATED EGYPTIAN HONEY BEES' PRODUCTS

With the rise in prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, honey is increasingly evaluated for its antibacterial activity. In this study, 25 Egyptian honey samples of different types, companies and locations were used. From each sample, numbers of aerobic bacteria were determined using the aerobic plate count technique, and identified using the gram stain technique, biochemical tests and the GEN III MicrostationTM semi-automated ID system. The antimicrobial activity of non-irradiated and irradiated honey samples at different gamma radiation lethal dose levels (0.5, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15kGy) of different concentrations (100%, 75%, 50% and 25%) were investigated against 6 pathogenic microbial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter species, Klebsiella pneumonia and Candida albicans), using agar well-diffusion method. Also, the antimicrobial activity of some commonly- used antibiotic discs (Amoxicillin/ Clavulinic acid, Amikacin, Cefotaxime, Ciprofloxacin, Sulfamethoxazole/ Trimethoprim, Tobramycin, Tetracycline and Nystatin) against the tested pathogenic microorganisms were determined using the disc-diffusion method. The findings indicate that the antimicrobial activity of the irradiated honey samples were greater than that of both the non-irradiated honey samples and most of the antibiotic discs. The results also showed that most of the honey samples at 100% (v/v) concentration inhibit the growth of all the tested bacteria.