The next miracle drug may have an oddly familiar, sticky feel. Scientists have recently discovered that ordinary honey is amazingly effective at killing bacteria, including staphylococcus, that do not respond to conventional antibiotics.
Honey also reduces inflammation and encourages re-growth of skin.
When honey is spread on a wound, Molan says, the concentrated sugar binds up all of the water in the area, making it impossible for the microbes to grow. Honey also contains an enzyme that breaks down the sugar and releases hydrogen peroxide, a powerful antiseptic. But some bees do better work than others. Molan and his coworkers have found that a honey made from the pollen of the Leptospermum tree, which grows in New Zealand and parts of Australia, contains an extra, as-yet unidentified component that makes it 100 times more effective in killing microbes. Capilano Honey of Brisbane, Australia, is selling Leptospermum honey as Medihoney, and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration has just approved its use as an antimicrobial ointment.