TY - JOUR
T1 - Honey combination therapies for skin and wound infections
T2 - A systematic review of the literature
AU - McLoone, Pauline
AU - Tabys, Dina
AU - Fyfe, Lorna
N1 - Funding Information:
This article was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Kazakhstan; IRN № АР05135293.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 McLoone et al.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Topical application of medical grade honey is recommended for the clinical management of wound infections. The suitability of honey as a wound healing agent is largely due to its antibacterial activity, immune modulatory properties, and biocompatibility. Despite the usefulness of honey in wound healing, chronic wound infections continue to be a global problem requiring new and improved therapeutic interventions. Several recent studies have investigated the effects of combining honey with other therapies or agents with the aim of finding more efficacious treatments. In this systematic review, the database PubMed was used to carry out a search of the scientific literature on the combined effects of honey and other therapies on antimicrobial activity and wound and skin healing. The search revealed that synergistic or additive antimicrobial effects were observed in vitro when honey was combined with antibiotics, bacteriophages, antimicrobial peptides, natural agents, eg, ginger or propolis and other treatment approaches such as the use of chitosan hydrogel. Outcomes depended on the type of honey, the combining agent or treatment and the microbial species or strain. Improved wound healing was also observed in vivo in mice when honey was combined with laser therapy or bacteriophage therapy. More clinical studies in humans are required to fully understand the effectiveness of honey combination therapies for the treatment of skin and wound infections.
AB - Topical application of medical grade honey is recommended for the clinical management of wound infections. The suitability of honey as a wound healing agent is largely due to its antibacterial activity, immune modulatory properties, and biocompatibility. Despite the usefulness of honey in wound healing, chronic wound infections continue to be a global problem requiring new and improved therapeutic interventions. Several recent studies have investigated the effects of combining honey with other therapies or agents with the aim of finding more efficacious treatments. In this systematic review, the database PubMed was used to carry out a search of the scientific literature on the combined effects of honey and other therapies on antimicrobial activity and wound and skin healing. The search revealed that synergistic or additive antimicrobial effects were observed in vitro when honey was combined with antibiotics, bacteriophages, antimicrobial peptides, natural agents, eg, ginger or propolis and other treatment approaches such as the use of chitosan hydrogel. Outcomes depended on the type of honey, the combining agent or treatment and the microbial species or strain. Improved wound healing was also observed in vivo in mice when honey was combined with laser therapy or bacteriophage therapy. More clinical studies in humans are required to fully understand the effectiveness of honey combination therapies for the treatment of skin and wound infections.
KW - Antibiotics
KW - Combination therapy
KW - Honey
KW - Natural agents
KW - Skin infection
KW - Wound infection
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096667863&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85096667863&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2147/CCID.S282143
DO - 10.2147/CCID.S282143
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85096667863
VL - 13
SP - 875
EP - 888
JO - Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology
JF - Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology
SN - 1178-7015
ER -