THE INHIBITORY ACTIVITY OF HONEY AND "HONEY PASTES" AGAINST SELECTED FOODBORNE BACTERIAL PATHOGENS

Twenty nine samples of locally produced honey and twenty two samples of honey pastes were collected from retail outlets in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Their antibacterial activity against some Gram positive and Gram negative foodborne bacterial pathogens using the agar well diffusion method was studied. In addition, the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined for honey pastes samples using the dilution method. All samples of honey had antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157: H7 and Salmonella typhimunium on plates of tryptic soy agar with varying diameters of inhibition zones. Samples of honey pastes showed also antibacterial effect against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157: H7 and Salmonella typhimunium adopting the previous technique. MIC varied between honey pastes samples where it was sample dependent