Honey may take the sting out of the NHS superbugs

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.

The honey is also highly acidic due to the presence of the enzyme glucose oxidase, adding to its antibacterial properties.

Dr Cooper said this enzyme produces a secret weapon - hydrogen peroxide, which was once used as a wound disinfectant in hospitals.

Honey is primarily composed of fructose, glucose and water. It also contains enzymes, vitamins B and C, iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, silica, manganese and potassium.

Dr Cooper said supermarket honey was not suitable for treating wounds.

'The honey we used was irradiated and had not been exposed to high temperatures like pasteurised runny honey you get in the shops,' she said.

'Even honey you might buy in health food shops could contain bacteria spores which you would not want to introduce to wounds.'

Another trial involving 20 patients at Aintree Hospital in Liverpool found dressings soaked in Manuka honey from New Zealand were effective in treating wounds infected with drug-resistant bacteria.

Manuka is made from one of New Zealand's native plants and has long been used in folk medicine. A larger trial has now been ordered.