ABSTRACT
The study investigated the action of natural honey on some isolated organisms that cause eye infections. Sixty (60) eye swab samples were obtained from subjects that visited Federal Medical Center (FMC), Owerri for eye care services. The swab samples were cultured and incubated at 370C for twenty four (24) hours. The investigations which were conducted in the microbiology department of the hospital were supervised by a senior laboratory scientist. Staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus pyogenes and pseudomonas aeruginosa species of microbes were identified in the swab samples. The staphylococcus aureus specie was most abundant (42. 86%) followed by the streptococcus pyogenes (34.29%). The percentages of the organisms’ sensitivity to honey were: staphylococcus aureus-80.00%, streptococcus pyogenes-41.70% and pseudomonas aeruginosa-25.00%. This result was compared with organisms’ sensitivity to gentamicin in which staphylococcus aureus was 93.33%, while streptococcus pyogenes was 66.70%. That of pseudomonas aeruginosa was 75.00%. Although the organisms were respectively more sensitive to gentamicin than natural honey, the large extent to which their growth was inhibited by honey is a clear indication that natural honey has antimicrobial effects that could ameliorat, heal or remedy eye infections.
Key words: Eye, honey, microbe, specie, swab.