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Description
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the third most valuable crop in the United States. It produces a large amount of nectar from which honeybees and other types of bees produce a high yield of honey. It is estimated that around 416 to 1,933 pounds of nectar per acre is produced by alfalfa (Kropacova, 1963). However, even with the great antimicrobial features that honey offers, there is still limited research on the antimicrobial properties of specific types of honey, such as alfalfa honey. Topical honey application clears wounds swiftly, aiding rapid healing, even in infections resistant to typical antibiotics like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Manuka honey from tea tree in Australia and New Zealand effectively combats human pathogens including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella aerogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as MRSA (Mandal et al., 2011). Alfalfa honey, among others from Saudi Arabia, exhibits high antioxidant potential and significant antimicrobial activity, ranking second only to Acacia honey (Ismail et al., 2021). Honey comprises primarily of different sugars and proteins (0.5%), with variations based on bee species and flora. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is the main antimicrobial agent in honey, confirmed by spectrophoto-metric assays. Other non-peroxide antimicrobial factors include low water content, low pH, phenolic compounds, and bee defensin-1 (Def-1).
Publication Date
3-20-2024
Recommended Citation
Bravo, Denyce and Santhoff, Andrew, "Exploring the Antimicrobial Potential of Honey from Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Against Both Human and Plant Pathogens" (2024). Annual Research Symposium. 31.
https://scholar.dsu.edu/research-symposium/31