Antiacanthamoebic properties of natural and marketed honey in Pakistan

Synergic Effect of Honey with Other Natural Agents in Developing Efficient Wound Dressings

Honey has been used for therapeutic and nutritional purposes since ancient times. It was considered one of the essential medical assets in wound healing. According to research, honeybees have significant antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and wound-healing properties. Lately, scientific researchers have focused on apitherapy, using bee products to protect and strengthen the immune system. Since honey is the most important natural product rich in minerals, proteins, and vitamins, it has been intensively used in such therapies. Honey has gained significant consideration because of the beneficial role of its antioxidant compounds, such as enzymes, proteins, amino and organic acids, polyphenols, and carotenoids, but mainly due to flavonoids and phenolic acids. It has been proven that phenolic compounds are responsible for honey's biological activity and that its physicochemical properties, antioxidants, and antimicrobial potential are significant for human health. The review also presents some mechanisms of action and the medical applications of honey, such as wound healing dressings, skin grafts, honey-based nanofibers, and cochlear implants, as the most promising wound healing tools. This extensive review has been written to highlight honey's applications in medicine; its composition with the most important bioactive compounds also illustrates its synergistic effect with other natural products having remarkable therapeutic properties in wound healing.

Antiamoebic Properties of Ceftriaxone and Zinc-Oxide-Cyclodextrin-Conjugated Ceftriaxone

Acanthamoeba castellanii is a ubiquitous free-living amoeba capable of instigating keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis in humans. Treatment remains limited and inconsistent. Accordingly, there is a pressing need for novel compounds. Nanotechnology has been gaining attention for enhancing drug delivery and reducing toxicity. Previous work has shown that various antibiotic classes displayed antiamoebic activity. Herein, we employed two antibiotics: ampicillin and ceftriaxone, conjugated with the nanocarrier zinc oxide and β-cyclodextrin, and tested them against A. castellanii via amoebicidal, amoebistatic, encystment, excystment, cytopathogenicity, and cytotoxicity assays at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. Notably, zinc oxide β-cyclodextrin ceftriaxone significantly inhibited A. castellanii growth and cytopathogenicity. Additionally, both zinc oxide β-cyclodextrin ceftriaxone and ceftriaxone markedly inhibited A. castellanii encystment. Furthermore, all the tested compounds displayed negligible cytotoxicity. However, minimal anti-excystment or amoebicidal effects were observed for the compounds. Accordingly, this novel nanoconjugation should be employed in further studies in hope of discovering novel anti-Acanthamoeba compounds.

In vitro amoebicidal effect of Aloe vera ethanol extract and honey against Acanthamoeba spp. cysts

This study evaluated in vitro effect of different concentrations of Aloe vera (A. vera) ethanol extract and honey against Acanthamoeba spp. cysts in comparison with chlorhexidine (the drug of choice for treatment of Acanthamoeba infection) at different incubation periods. Four different concentrations of the tested agents were used, 100, 200, 400, and 600 μg/ml for A. vera ethanol extract and 25, 50, 100, and 200 μg/ml for honey. Isolated Acanthamoeba spp. cysts from keratitis patients were incubated with different concentrations of the tested agents as well as chlorhexidine 0.02% (drug control) for different incubation periods (24, 48, 72 h). After each incubation period, the effect of A. vera extract and honey against Acanthamoeba cysts was assessed by counting the number of viable cysts, determining the inhibitory percentage and detecting the morphological alternations of treated cysts compared to non-treated and drug controls. Both A. vera ethanol extract and honey showed a concentration and time-dependent effect on the viability of Acanthamoeba cysts. In comparison with chlorhexidine (the drug control), A. vera ethanol extract possessed a potent cysticidal activity at all tested concentrations throughout different incubation periods, except for concentration 100 μg/ml which recorded the lower inhibitory effect. With increasing the dose of A. vera ethanol extract to 200, 400, 600 µg/ml, the recorded inhibitory percentages of Acanthamoeba cysts viability were 82.3%, 92.9% and 97.9% respectively, after 72 h compared to 76.3% of chlorhexidine. Similarly, honey at concentrations of 50-100 µg/ml gave higher inhibitory effect of 59% and 76.7%, respectively compared to chlorhexidine which showed an inhibitory percentage of 55.7% after 24 h. Meanwhile, the lowest tested concentration of honey (25 µg/ml) gave an inhibitory effect by 47.7-67% which was less than that of chlorhexidine throughout different incubation periods. With increasing the dose of honey to 200 µg/ml, the inhibitory effect was 98.9% after 72 h higher than that of chlorhexidine (76.9%). Using a scanning electron microscope, Acanthamoeba cysts treated by A. vera ethanol extract showed alternations in their shapes with flattening, collapsing, and laceration of their walls. Also, treated cysts by honey were highly distorted and difficult to identify because most of them were shrinkage and collapsed to a tiny size. On the other hand, chlorhexidine showed less structural and morphological changes of Acanthamoeba cysts. A. vera ethanol extract and honey had considerable cysticidal effects on Acanthamoeba cysts. They may give promising results for treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Honey as a functional additive in yoghurt – a review

Purpose

Recent societal interest in healthful foods has led to the development of functional dairy products that basically provide health benefits in addition to their fundamental nutrients. Yoghurt being most popular fermented milk product due to its healthy image can be an excellent carrier for probiotics. Functional properties of yoghurt can be enhanced with the inclusion of functional ingredients such as probiotics and its conjugate application with prebiotics may be advantageous as it favors probiotic growth. Nutritional and medicinal value of honey coupled with presence of oligosaccharides has projected honey as a functional additive in yoghurt.

Design/methodology/approach

Attempt has been made to review the literature on the biochemical activities of yoghurt cultures and probiotics in presence of honey. Both review and research papers related to biochemical activities and functional properties of yoghurt cultures and probiotics in presence of honey and their health benefits published in diverse journals under Pub Med and Science Direct have been considered. Keywords used for data search included functional foods, yoghurt, probiotic, health benefits, honey, etc.

Findings

Functional properties of yoghurt can be further enhanced with the inclusion of probiotic cultures and honey. Honey can be safely used in association with different probiotic cultures during yoghurt manufacture for augmenting functional properties of yoghurt to extend health benefits. Honey may not be equally a suitable matrix for all yoghurt cultures or probiotic cultures.

Research limitations/implications

Reviewed literature indicated that limited research on animal or human feeding trials with honey containing yoghurt has been done. Clinical trials with honey containing yoghurt are emerging prior to its marketing as functional food.

Originality/value

Application of honey as a functional additive during the manufacture of probiotic yoghurt is suggested to extend the functional properties of normal yoghurt.

The Contribution of Complementary and Alternative Medicine to Reduce Antibiotic Use: A Narrative Review of Health Concepts, Prevention, and Treatment Strategies

AIM

The aim of this narrative review was to explore the potential contributions of CAM to reduce antibiotic use.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews with a specific, limited set of search terms and collected input from a group of expert CAM researchers to answer the question: What is known about the contribution of CAM health and health promotion concepts, infection prevention, and infection treatment strategies to reduce antibiotic use? Results. The worldview-related CAM health concepts enable health promotion oriented infection prevention and treatment aimed at strengthening or supporting the self-regulating ability of the human organism to cope with diseases. There is some evidence that the CAM concepts of health (promotion) are in agreement with current conceptualization of health and that doctors who practice both CAM and conventional medicine prescribe less antibiotics, although selection bias of the presented studies cannot be ruled out. There is some evidence that prevention and some treatment strategies are effective and safe. Many CAM treatment strategies are promising but overall lack high quality evidence.

CONCLUSIONS

CAM prevention and treatment strategies may contribute to reducing antibiotic use, but more rigorous research is necessary to provide high quality evidence of (cost-)effectiveness.

Combating Acanthamoeba spp. cysts: what are the options?

Acanthamoeba spp. are protist pathogens and causative agents of serious infections including keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Its ability to convert into dormant and highly resistant cysts form limits effectiveness of available therapeutic agents and presents a pivotal challenge for drug development. During the cyst stage, Acanthamoeba is protected by the presence of hardy cyst walls, comprised primarily of carbohydrates and cyst-specific proteins, hence synthesis inhibition and/or degradation of cyst walls is of major interest. This review focuses on targeting of Acanthamoeba cysts by identifying viable therapeutic targets.

Effects of floral honey and pressed flax seeds on intensity of yogurt aroma, sweetness and sour taste of yogurts during storage

The aim of this study was to evaluate chosen sensory properties of yogurts without any additions of honey and pressed flax seeds (K) and with the different addition of floral honey (1, 3 and 5%) and with the same addition (0.5%) of pressed flax seeds (PA, PB and PC) during storage. These samples were analysed during 14 days of storage at cooling temperature (6 ±1 °C). Sensory properties - intensity of yogurt aroma, sweetness and sour taste were evaluated. Sensory evaluation was carried out in the 1st, 7th and 14th day following the yogurts production. The control samples had the most significant yogurt aroma this sample had also the highest sour taste and the lowest sweet taste throughout the storage. In all of analysed samples, the sourest taste was observed 14th day of storage. The sweet taste of yogurts with honey addition increased compared to control samples however the sweetest taste of samples with addition of honey was 1st day following the yogurt production. Optimum sweetness was determined with the samples of yogurts containing 5% of floral honey. Floral honey added into the yogurts has positive effect on their sensory properties. The pressed flax seeds have no effect on sensory properties of yogurts. The enrichment of yogurts with honey and pressed flax seeds is high recommended because they have a lot of beneficial nutritional properties and improve the sensory quality of the final product.