Suitability of spectrophotometric assay for determination of honey microbial inhibition

Abstract

Abstract Commonly used methods for determination of antibacterial potency of honey are usually the disc, agar well diffusion and dilution plate assay which had shown various demerit of inaccuracies and impreciseness. Therefore, the suitability of spectrophotometric assay for determination of honey inhibitory activity is evaluated in this study. Honeys from different sources in southwest states in Nigeria were assayed for antibacterial activity using 96-well micro-titre plate spectrophotometric methods to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against enteric bacteria strains. The honey inhibition assay of Nigerian honeys tested against enteric bacilli showed more than 90% inhibitory activity. Among all the honeys sample assayed, only two honeys reveal a very low MIC of 31.25 and 125mg/mL. The use of spectrophotometry is a precise method to determine honey inhibitory rate and it is proven to be suitable highly sensitive, reproducible, specific, reduced cost, fewer amounts of sample and reagent are required.