Comvita Active 5+ Manuka Honey 250 g

Daily Mail 8th July 2009, 8th Jul 2009

Reviewer: Julie Goodwin

Honey may take the sting out of the NHS superbugsby BEEZY MARSH, Daily Mail

Honey has the power to defeat the hospital superbugs which claim up to 5,000 lives a year, scientists have discovered.
Renowned for thousands of years for its medicinal properties, it is able to kill off mutant bacteria, including MRSA which has defeated all but the strongest antibiotics.
The latest discovery by researchers at the University of Wales in Cardiff comes at a time of growing scientific interest in the substance's healing properties.
Honey contains natural antibacterial agents which experts have discovered can prevent the growth of a number of hospital-acquired wound infections, even at very low concentrations.
Outbreaks of the infections cost the Health Service £1billion a year in extra treatment.
They kill 5,000 British hospital patients a year and are a factor in a further 15,000 deaths.
Honey was revered by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians as a powerful medicinal agent and used to help heal burns and sores.
During World War I, German physicians mixed it with cod liver oil to use as a surgical dressing for battle wounds.
But widespread use of antibiotics to combat infections in the latter part of the last century left it back in the kitchen cupboard.
The latest findings followed laboratory experiments on bacteria gathered from infected wounds and hospital surfaces, including MRSA.
The team at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff found honey attacked the bugs even when it was diluted in another medium. Microbiologist Dr Rose Cooper explained: 'I have found that even at concentrations as low as 3 per cent, honey is able to inhibit the growth of the bacteria.
'It is probable that at higher concentrations the honey would destroy the MRSA. This is very encouraging news and a good start.'
Varieties of honey from Australia and New Zealand have proved most effective. Their high sugar content creates a waterless environment in which the bacteria cannot survive.