Honey and Ginger Beat Antibiotics in Inhibiting Superbugs

Honey, and combinations of honey and herbs have been used for thousands of years to counteract various ailments including infections. And honey and ginger has been used as a healing combination for many conditions. But few realized just how antibiotic honey was - until recently.

Researchers from Ethiopa's College of Medicine at the University of Gondar have determined that a combination of honey and ginger extract powder will inhibit the growth of superbugs such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae  - some of the most lethal 'superbugs' known.

The researchers conducted a laboratory study to test the inhibition ranges – using a standardized approach of measuring mean inhibition after culturing the bacteria in a broth solution and then using agar as a medium for measurement. The broths were cultured with the antibiotics for 20-24 hours to measure their effect upon the bacteria.

The researchers separately tested Ethiopian honey, ginger powder and a combination of the two against three different antibiotics. The researchers also tested a water extract of the ginger.

The antibiotics tested were methicillin, amoxicillin and penicillin – three of the most successful antibiotics in our pharmaceutical arsenal.

The researchers conducted five tests for each treatment. These included the following bacteria:

• Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and non-MRSA)
• Escherichia coli (two different strains)
• Klebsiella pneumoniae

The research determined that both the honey and the ginger extract powder (alcohol extract) independently had greater inhibition levels than any of the antibiotics. The only antibiotic to come close to the inhibition of either of these was amoxicillin – which was close to the ginger extract. And this was only on the non-MRSA S. aureus. The ginger and the honey – each alone – beat out all three of these antibiotics in terms of mean inhibition levels.

The numbers tell it all. Honey and ginger extacts each had an average mean inhibition of 19.23 among all five bacteria – ranging from 13 to 24.

Meanwhile the methicillin had an average mean inhibition of 4.00 (ranging from 0 to 13), amoxicillin had an average inhibition of 12.25 (ranging from 7 to 22) and penicillin had an average inhibition of 13.25 (ranging from 9 to 20).

And the combination of the ginger extract and the honey had even greater antibiotic properties, with mean inhibition levels averaging 25.62 and ranging from 19 to 30 – beating out all the pharmaceutical antibiotics by a landslide.

How was the ginger extract made?

The ginger extract powder was made by slicing ginger root and drying at 37°C for 24 hours. These dried ginger pieces were then ground and blended with methanol and ethanol. A 50% solution of ginger was the result.

The ginger extract powder was then blended with 100% honey at a one-to-one (50/50) basis.

The water extract of the ginger had no inhibition of the bacteria. This what other research has indicated – that alcohol apparently extracts the antibiotic constituents from the ginger.

- See more at: http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/honey-and-ginger-beat-antibiotics-inhibiting-superbugs#sthash.IqSXHvLZ.dpuf