Antibacterial potency of Indonesian Randu Honey against Staphylococcus sp.

Introduction: Honey is known to be used as an antimicrobial to treat infections caused by bacteria. Randu honey is produced by flower-sucking bees cultivated in the tropical forest and consumed nectar from the flower of randu tree (Cheiba pentandra). The purpose of this study was to determine the activity of randu honey on the growth of Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus sp. Methods: This study used well-diffusion method with gradient concentration of (20 µl, 40 µl, 60 µl, 80 µl and 100 µl). The bacteria used in this study were Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis which inoculated on Muller-Hinton agar media. The inhibition zone was measured after incubation for 18-24 hours to determine the inhibition of honey randu against the growth of bacteria. Results: There was a difference in the minimum concentration of randu honey which can inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The inhibition zone was found at the concentration of 40 µl randu madu (0.67 mm ± 1.15), 60 µl (7.67 mm ± 7.50), 80 µl (10 mm ± 9.17), and 100 µl (22.67 mm ± 3.05) for Staphylococcus epidermidis, while 80 µl (2.67 mm ± 4.62) and 100 µl (13 mm ± 1.73) for Staphylococcus aureus. There was no significant effect (p>0.05) of the randu honey concentrations on the diameter of the inhibition zone of Staphylococcus aureus (0.09) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (2.97). Conclusion: It was concluded that madu randu has potential as an antibacterial against the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria.