In vitro Assessment of Efficacy of Gamma Irradiation on the Antimicrobial Activity of Iranian Honey

Unprocessed honey is well recognized as wound-healing remedy. However, to make use of the honey clinically acceptable, it should be sterilized. It is well-established that the antibacterial activity is heat-labile either by using sterilization by autoclaving, but the effectiveness of gamma-irradiation on the antibacterial activity of honey is unknown. Therefore, an investigation was carried out to assess the effects of the antibacterial activity of Iranian honey using the commercial gamma-irradiation sterilization procedure. The honeys were divided into 4 groups (0, 5, 15 and 25 KGy). Then each group was divided four sub-groups non-irradiated and irradiated (non-heated, 25 C, 35 C, 45 C). Microbiological test of the honeys were carried out against control organisms (Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and clinically isolated organisms were tested in an agar disk diffusion assay. Results showed that there were no significant changes using the antibacterial activity of gamma-irradiation sterilization of honey, even the radiation was 25 KGy. The results of the study indicate that a better antibacterial activity is derived using the gamma-irradiation technique to maintain sterility and produced undesirable effect on antibacterial activity of honey.