Unique antimicrobial activity in honey from the Australian honeypot ant ( Camponotus inflatus )

PeerJ

article

Andrew Z. Dong¹  Nural Cokcetin²  Dee A. Carter¹  Kenya E. Fernandes¹ 

[1]School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney

[2]Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology

[3]Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney

关键词: Honeypot ant;    Honey;    Antimicrobial activity;    Functional food;    Camponotus;    Microbiome;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.15645

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Honey produced by the Australian honeypot ant (Camponotus inflatus) is valued nutritionally and medicinally by Indigenous peoples, but its antimicrobial activity has never been formally studied. Here, we determine the activity of honeypot ant honey (HPAH) against a panel of bacterial and fungal pathogens, investigate its chemical properties, and profile the bacterial and fungal microbiome of the honeypot ant for the first time. We found HPAH to have strong total activity against Staphylococcus aureus but not against other bacteria, and strong non-peroxide activity against Cryptococcus and Aspergillus sp. When compared with therapeutic-grade jarrah and manuka honey produced by honey bees, we found HPAH to have a markedly different antimicrobial activity and chemical properties, suggesting HPAH has a unique mode of antimicrobial action. We found the bacterial microbiome of honeypot ants to be dominated by the known endosymbiont genus Candidatus Blochmannia (99.75%), and the fungal microbiome to be dominated by the plant-associated genus Neocelosporium (92.77%). This study demonstrates that HPAH has unique antimicrobial characteristics that validate its therapeutic use by Indigenous peoples and may provide a lead for the discovery of novel antimicrobial compounds.

【 授权许可】

CC BY