Antibacterial Activity of Honey Bee Products Collected from Three Different Climate in Golestan Province in Northern Iran

The biological activities of bee products vary according to plant origin, geographical region and climatic characteristics. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of honey and propolis samples from different geographical regions with different climate. Samples included three honey samples and three propolis samples were collected from three areas of the Plain, Mountain and Forest of Golestan province in north of Iran. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by agar well diffusion method and MIC and MBC were determined by broth macrodilution tube method. The results of the present study revealed that antibacterial activity of the honey collected from forest areas is higher than other honey samples so that the MIC of this honey sample was in the range of 12.5 to 25%. The propolis collected from plain areas showed the highest antibacterial activity with MBC in the range of 12.5 to 50 mg/ml. The gram-positive bacteria in comparison of gram-negative bacteria and standard strains in comparison of native isolates were showed more sensitive to these bee products. The standard strain of S. aureus and the native isolate of P. aeroginosa were the most sensitive and the most resistant of the bacteria respectively. Difference and variation of antibacterial activity of bee products can be due to the difference in the various plants that bees have fed. Due to the complications associated with antimicrobial chemical compounds, identifying of effective compounds of these products can hope for us to introduce a natural drug combination or a natural food additive.