Antibacterial potential of hive bees honey from Himachal Pradesh, India

This paper presents a pioneer study on the microbial diversity and antibacterial potential of hive bees (Apiscerana and A.mellifera) honey collected from Himachal Pradesh. In total, 26 bacteria (14 from A.cerana and 12 from A.mellifera) but no fungal isolate were recovered. Bee species and locations comparison in terms of bacterial load (log CFU/g) revealed maximum loads of 3.74 and 3.99 in the honey from A.cerana and Mandi location, respectively. The most prevalent strains (HC3, HC5, HC6, HC8 and HM2) were identified (16S rRNA ribotyping) as Staphylococcushaemolyticus (MT742636), “Bacillussubtilis subsp. stecoris” (MT742637), Bacillussafensis subsp. safensis (MT742638), “Bacilluszanthoxyli” (MT742639) and Bacillussafensis subsp. safensis (MT938911). The apiary honey displayed good to excellent inhibitory activity against Escherichiacoli ATCC1041 whereas, fair to good against Bacillussubtilis ATCC6633, Pseudomonasaeruginosa ATCC10662, Salmonellatyphi NCTC786 and Klebsiellapneumoniae ATCC13883, highlighting its use as a therapeutic agent. Furthermore, it can be effective in minimizing numerous side effects associated with the consumption of synthetic drugs for treating bacterial infections thereby signifying the role of honey as a healthier substitute for synthetic drugs.