This lab visualises a cross-section of a wound bed dressed with honey. A colony of bacteria (green spheres) grows on the wound surface; when honey is applied, three real mechanisms act on it simultaneously: an osmotic effect from honey's very high sugar concentration draws water out of bacterial cells, a hydrogen-peroxide effect produced slowly by the enzyme glucose oxidase as the honey is diluted by wound fluid, and — in Manuka honey specifically — a non-peroxide effect from methylglyoxal (MGO) derived from dihydroxyacetone in manuka nectar.
A 3D cutaway of a honey-dressed wound bed where bacteria multiply or die back depending on honey's three real antibacterial mechanisms — osmotic draw, hydrogen peroxide, and (in Manuka honey) methylglyoxal.
Honey's sugar concentration osmotically dehydrates bacterial cells, diluted honey slowly generates hydrogen peroxide via glucose oxidase, and Manuka honey adds a stable non-peroxide MGO effect — together these can suppress bacterial growth on a wound surface.
Choose a honey type, set how much of the wound is covered, and adjust wound exudate (moisture). Watch the bacterial colony grow or die back in real time and compare against the untreated control.
Medical-grade honey dressings are used clinically for some wounds and burns, but raw honey is not sterile and apitherapy is not a substitute for antibiotics in serious infections.