EVALUATION OF HONEY FOR MANAGEMENT OF BACTERIAL DIARRHOEA AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE ILEAL MICROBIOTA OF WISTAR RATS

Abstract

The antibacterial effect of honey from twelve (12) different locations in Nigeria on selected diarrhoea-causing bacteria was investigated in this study. Both clinical and typed cultures of the following bacteria; Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella dysenteriae, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus were used for the study. The antagonistic activities of microbes in honey on the test bacteria were also investigated. Moreover, the physicochemical, phytochemical and chemical properties of the honey samples were as well evaluated. Both unpasteurised and pasteurised honey samples were evaluated. Honey from Ikakuma - Akoko which was obtained directly from the hive in the apiary and conventional antibiotics served as controls. Furthermore, the effect of the consumption of honey on the ileal microbiota of Wistar rats was investigated using standard methods. The honey samples examined were effective in inhibiting the growth of majority of the test bacteria and the inhibitory effects were found to be superior to most of the conventional antibiotics used. Pasteurisation was observed to cause reduction in the antibacterial activity of some of the honey samples. Some of the microbes in honey displayed antagonistic effect on some of the test bacteria. The physicochemical analysis of the honey samples showed that they had a mean pH range of 3.57 ± 0.32 - 4.80 ± 0.72 and moisture contents with mean values ranged from 13.59 ± 0.88% - 23.18 ± 0.36%. Fructose contents mean values ranged from 34.35 ± 0.21% - 39.61± 0.01% and glucose contents with mean values ranging from 31.40 ± 0.14% - 35.95 ± 5.73%. The phytochemical analysis of the honey samples showed the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid, saponin, phenolics and glycosides while the chemical analysis revealed the presence of potassium, sodium, calcium and chlorine. Among the selected bacteria used in the in vitro assay, Salmonella typhimurium was the most susceptible to the honey samples used and therefore selected for the in-vivo therapeutic assay. All the rats infected with this bacterium and administered honey recovered by the 3rd day while those ones administered honey – ORS and the ones administered homemade ORS variants recovered by day 4. On the other hand, those treated with augmentin and those administered commercial ORS recovered by the 5th day while those that were not treated after the infection sets in started showing signs of recovery by the 6th day. Administration of honey to the S. typhimurium infected rats also caused a reversal of the effects of the infection on the haematological parameters of the rats, morphology of the ileum and the liver, the population of the bacterium in the ileum and the rate of shedding of the bacterium in the faeces of the rats. The results also revealed that the administration of honey to the infected rats caused an increased in their weights by the 3rd day unlike those that were infected and not treated that started to regain their weight back on day 6. On the effect of consumption of honey on the ileal microbiota of apparently healthy Wistar rats, the consumption of honey by the rats caused a significant reduction in the bacterial population in the ileum by the 1st week of administration. The most affected bacterial flora are Klebsiella oxytoca and Micrococcus caseolyticus while E. coli which plays key role in production of vitamin K, food digestion and in the defence of host against harmful microbes was not affected. From the outcome of this study, the use of honey therefore is being proposed for the treatment of acute bacterial diarrhoea caused by S. typhimurium as an alternative to conventional antibacterial (antibiotic) therapy and its consumption should not exceed 7 days to minimise its effect on the bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract.