POTENTIAL ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF DIFFERENT HONEY BRANDS FROM PAKISTAN: A QUEST FOR NATURAL REMEDY

Authors

  • Kafeel Ahmad
  • Ali Talha Khalil
  • Ramla Somayya
  • Faisal Nouroz Khan
  • Ali Raza Shah
  • Muhammad Ovais
  • Zabta Khan Shinwari

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21010/ajtcam.v14i5.3

Keywords:

Honey, Antifungal activity, Pathogenic fungi, Natural remedy

Abstract

Background: Besides a wholesome food, honey is known for its therapeutic implications. We investigated the antifungal activity of five honeys of different types from Pakistan against various pathogenic fungal strains. Antifungal properties of processed and non-processed honey were determined. Materials and Methods: The antifungal assay of honey was carried out against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigates, Alterneria alternata, Fusarium solanai, Microsporum canis, Penicillium funiculosium and Rhizopus solanai. Different dilutions of honey samples were used (20%, 50%, 70%, 90% and 100% w/v so as to find out the minimum effective concentration of each honey type. Results: It was observed that all of the honey samples were highly active, with percent inhibition range of (3-81%) for Aspergillus niger, (2-82%) for Aspergillus flavus, (1-76%) for Aspergillus fumigates, (1-84%) for Alterneria alternata, (2- 67%) for Fusarium solanai, (1-87%) Microsporum canis, (2-78%) Penicillium funiculosium and (1-86%) for Rhizopus solanai. Conclusion: The study of Pakistani honey brands reveals that they possess a substantial antifungal nature. Therefore, they may be used in curing fungal infections along with antifungal drugs as a cheaper alternative natural remedy with no side effects.

Author Biographies

Kafeel Ahmad

Centre of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Ali Talha Khalil

Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Ramla Somayya

Centre of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Faisal Nouroz Khan

Department of Bioinformatics, Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan.

Ali Raza Shah

Centre of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Muhammad Ovais

Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Zabta Khan Shinwari

Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

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Published

2017-10-01

How to Cite

Ahmad, K., Khalil, A. T., Somayya, R., Khan, F. N., Shah, A. R., Ovais, M., & Shinwari, Z. K. (2017). POTENTIAL ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF DIFFERENT HONEY BRANDS FROM PAKISTAN: A QUEST FOR NATURAL REMEDY. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines, 14(5), 18–23. https://doi.org/10.21010/ajtcam.v14i5.3

Issue

Section

Short communications