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Microbes & Immunity

REVIEW ARTICLE
The multifaceted health benefits of honey:

A natural antimicrobial, antioxidant, and
complementary therapeutic agent

Yuhan Xie and Paolo Coghi*

School of Pharmacy, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Natural Products in the Prevention and Treatment of
Microbiological, Immunological, and Infectious Diseases: Integrating Wild Edible Plants and
Beyond)

Abstract

Honey is a natural product of ethnopharmacology widely used worldwide and in
the fast-changing world of science and technology. Packed with the rich chemical
compositions, this traditional nutrient has been indicated for a variety of new uses. In
this paper, different varieties of honey with rich nutritional value and multidimensional
use are comprehensively discussed for their antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, anti-
inflammatory, and antiparasitic effects. In addition, the effects of honey in promoting
wound healing, regulating oxidative stress, regulating cardiovascular, nervous,
*Corresponding author:
Paolo Coghi respiratory, and gastrointestinal systems are discussed comprehensively. The
(coghips@must.edu.mo) underlying reasons for the numerous benefits of honey are analyzed in detail, such
as its unique chemical environment, the special composition of its inclusions, and
Citation: Xie Y, Coghi P. The
multifaceted health benefits of its nutritional treasure trove of polyphenols, flavonoids, bioenzymes, amino acids,
honey: A natural antimicrobial, and glucose. More importantly, the article explores in detail the value of honey’s use
antioxidant, and complementary as an alternative to antibiotics for a wide range of bacteria and fungi, as well as in
therapeutic agent. Microbes &
Immunity. 2025;2(2):1-15. addressing serious problems such as antibiotic resistance. In conclusion, honey is a
doi: 10.36922/mi.6592 widely used natural product with minimal side effects and boasts huge potential in
Received: November 27, 2024 a wide range of applications, especially as a new type of antibiotic with virtually no
countermeasures, which deserves further exploration through clinical research.
1st revised: December 25, 2024
2nd revised: January 13, 2025
Keywords: Honey; Virus; Bacteria; Glucose; Manuka honey
Accepted: February 7, 2025
Published online: February 20,
2025
1. Introduction
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article The discovery of antibiotics was an important milestone in the history of human
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution chemistry, putting an end to human helplessness in the face of bacterial infections. Due
License, permitting distribution, to the increasing misuse of antibiotics, the gradual decline in their clinical effectiveness
1,2
and reproduction in any medium, and the shortage of innovative antibiotics have turned our attention to natural products
provided the original work is
properly cited. and drug candidates that can be used therapeutically without side effects. 3,4
Publisher’s Note: AccScience Honey is a class of natural products commonly found in daily life and it is a
Publishing remains neutral with concentrated sweetener that can be obtained directly in nature. Honey has been used
5
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional as a natural antibacterial agent for thousands of years all over the world. Examples of
affiliations. honey’s use in the treatment of wounds, infections, and diseases are documented in

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2025) 1 doi: 10.36922/mi.6592