ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF CHESTNUT HONEY (Castanea sativa Mill.) AGAINST Helicobacter pylori AND CORRELATION TO ITS ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY

One of the proven therapeutic properties of honey is its antimicrobial activity. The aim of this study was to examine the antimicrobial activity of chestnut honey against Helicobacter pylori and to evaluate a relationship between the content of phenols, antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity of honey was determined by the agar well diffusion method, and the inhibitory effect of different honey concentrations (20%, 50% and 75%) was evaluated. The phenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method while the total antioxidant capacity was determined by the FRAP assay. Water activity and hydrogen peroxide content were also determined. The results showed that the zones of inhibition of H. pylori ranged from eight to 21 mm depending on the sample and the concentration of honey, where the concentration of honey of 20% did not have inhibitory effect. The phenolic content ranged from 204.94 to 233.82 mg of GA/kg while FRAP values were between 392.71 and 441.53 μM Fe (II). The honey sample that showed the highest antimicrobial activity against H. pylori also had the highest total antioxidant capacity. However, the same correlation was not observed in the other analysed samples. Further research is needed to determine the contribution of individual components of honey to its antimicrobial activity