# Applicability of Honey on Silkworms (_Bombyx mori_) and Quality Improvement of Its Biomaterials
## 3 The Impact of Honey on Silk Fibroin-Based Biomaterials
### Honey-Enhanced Silk Fibroin-Based Biomaterials  
As for using biomaterials in the tissue engineering field, there is an important throwback when it comes to its high susceptibility to infections. In this regard, there are several natural compounds that exhibit antimicrobial activity that can be used together with the biomaterials in order to promote healing processes [45]. There are numerous studies that have described honey as a promising, effective agent in the process of tissue healing. It \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Biomaterial** & **Applicability** & **References** \\ \hline Titanium/Silk fibroin scaffolds & Bone repair & [99] \\ Silk fibroin nanofibers & Drug delivery system & [100] \\ Silk fibroin hydrogel & Cancer therapy & [101] \\ Silk fibroin/xanthan hydrogels & Connective tissue regeneration & [102] \\ Silk fibroin sheet & Vitrification of oocytes & [103] \\ Silk fibroin microsphere-nanofiber & Vascular tissue engineering & [104] \\ Silk fibroin and chitosan scaffolds & Tracheal transplantation & [105] \\ Silk scaffolds & Craniofacial bone repair & [106] \\ Silk fibroin/cellulose acetate/ & & [107] \\ gold-silver nanoparticles & Cancer therapy & [107] \\ Silk fibroin spheres & Controlled drug delivery & [108] \\ Silk fibroin nanoparticles & Target therapy & [109] \\ Silk fibroin hydrogel & Drug delivery system for bone defects & [110] \\ Silk fibroin matrices & Drug delivery and controlled release & [111] \\ Silk hydrogels & Drug delivery for sustained release & [112] \\ Silk fibroin scaffolds & Femur defects & [113] \\ Silk fibroin scaffolds & Mandibular repair & [114] \\ Silk biofilms & Blood contacting devices & [115] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 6: Silk fibroin-based biomaterials and their applications. is well known that honey reduces inflammation, stimulates collagen production, and promotes the growth of fibroblasts [2; 116; 117; 118; 119]. When it comes to bone defects, the most appropriate method for improving or treating them is represented by bone tissue engineering. In this direction, the tissue engineered scaffolds that exhibit the most promising results. The most important biological requirements for an engineered scaffold are biocompatibility and degradability [120]. Silk fibroin fibers meet both requirements [121]. Furthermore, there was performed a study that aimed to compare and analyze the effects of 5% Manuka honey on two silk fibroin-based biomaterials, namely cryogel and electrospun scaffolds. They pursued to determine the impact of various UMF of Manuka honey on the two biomaterials. In regard to the scaffolds' features, the authors analyzed the pore structure and surface topography with a scanning electron microscope; the porosity was determined by using microcomputed tomography. Moreover, the bacterial clearance and the bacterial adhesion were tested. In addition, the release of glucose and the cytotoxicity were investigated. Their results showed that, regardless of the UMF value of the honey that was incorporated in the scaffolds, there was not an observed significant difference on any of the studied parameters [122]. In this direction, [PERSON] et al. performed a study and developed scaffolds: specifically, silk fibroin cryogels that contained Manuka honey. They analyzed the effects of Manuka honey on the cryogel scaffold features, namely on the scaffold's porosity, biocompatibility and stability. The maintenance of scaffold's structure and properties has great importance for its applicability in bone engineering. On the other hand, they investigated whether silk fibroin cryogels could represent an ideal delivery and sustained release vehicle for honey. The authors also evaluated if the incorporation of Manuka honey in the cryogels maintained its antimicrobial activity. Their results revealed that by incorporating the Manuka honey, the porosity of the cryogels scaffolds was not affected. The large pores are necessary when it comes to bone repair.