An ant species in Australia makes honey that killed some bacterial and fungal infections in the lab, raising hopes that its properties could be used in new drugs
By Chen Ly
26 July 2023
Honeypot ants (Camponotus inflatus) hanging from the ceiling of a nest, engorged with nectar
Minden Pictures/Alamy
Honey produced by a type of ant in Australia has antimicrobial properties that could one day lead to new treatments against some bacterial and fungal infections.
Australian honeypot ants are found in arid regions of central and western parts of the country. Their colonies are made up of ordinary worker ants and a specialised group of workers called repletes. These gather nectar that they stuff into their extended abdomens, giving them a glassy, amber hue.
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“They are basically the holding vessels of the nectar that is brought in,” says Andrew Dong at the University of Sydney, Australia. By regurgitating the nectar, the replete ants produce a honey that feeds the rest of colony.
For thousands of years, Indigenous Australians have eaten this honey and used it to treat sore throats, wounds and skin ulcers, says Danny Ulrich, an Indigenous Australian who assisted the researchers.
In a laboratory experiment, Dong and his colleagues exposed a range of bacterial and fungal pathogens to different doses of the honey. They found that a water solution made up of 8 per cent honey killed the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus – a leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections that can also lead to pneumonia or enter the blood, bones or joints.