AU2003200927A1 - Honey Composition - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventors Address for service is: Wescobee Limited Stephen Compton, Eduard Planken and David Mclntyre WRAY ASSOCIATES Level 4, The Quadrant 1 William Street Perth, WA 6000 Attorney code: WR Invention Title: "Honey Composition" Details of Associated Provisional Application No: PS0979 filed 8 March 2002 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- "Honey Composition" Field of the Invention This invention relates to a honey composition which has therapeutic, medicinal or cosmetic application.

Background Art Honey is known to have medicinal and therapeutic benefits, including antimicrobial, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Honey is also known to have benefits in specific applications, such as in the treatment of wounds, ulcers, infantile gastroenteritis and acute gastritis.

In addition, honey has been reported to be effective as a topical treatment in respect of wounds, ulcers, burns and abscesses.

Honey has been shown to demonstrate activity against a number of organisms including bacteria. For example, honey from trees of the genus Leptospermum is active against a number of organisms including Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus.

Certain naturally occurring oils, such as sandalwood oil have been shown to have therapeutic benefits such as anti-inflammatory activity and effectiveness against a range of organisms including bacteria. For example, sandalwood oil is known to inhibit Streptococcus faecalis and is also known to be biocidal against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (M RSA).

Antibiotics are typically used in the treatment of a number of diseases or medical problems.

However, there are a number of disadvantages associated with the use of antibiotics, including unwanted side effects and the need for repeated courses of antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment, for example with amoxicillin, clarithromycin tetracycline and metranidazole, has the disadvantage of causing unwanted side effects as well as other disadvantages such as the need for repeated endoscopies, biopsies and repeated courses of the antibiotic. Furthermore, many bacteria are resistant to a number of types of antibiotics.

Thus, there is a need for a composition comprised of naturally occurring substances which do not have the side effects and disadvantages associated with antibiotics but which still have the necessary medicinal or therapeutic benefits.

It is against the above background that the present invention has been developed.

Disclosure of the Invention The present invention provides a composition comprising honey and an oil, the oil having therapeutic, medicinal or cosmetic benefits.

The oil may be a natural, therapeutic, aromatherapeutic, essential or synthetic oil.

The oil preferably has biocidal, antimicrobial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory or bacteriostatic effects.

Preferably the oil comprises sandalwood oil. In particular, Australian sandalwood oil from the Australian Santalum Spicatum tree is most preferred. The oil is preferably of pure pharmaceutical grade.

Other oils may be suitable and these may include basil, bergamot, birch, chamomile, clary sage, eucalyptus, fir, geranium, lavender, pine or tea-tree oil.

Different varieties of honey from Australia and other countries may be used in the composition and these include honey with varying colours, flavours, textures or conditions. Honey in various states may be used, such as raw, processed, organic or sterilised honey.

The honey used in the composition is preferably filtered and sterilised.

In a preferred form, the honey comprises honey from the Australian Eucalyptus Marginata tree.

Honey from trees of the genus Leptospermum may also be used since this type of honey has been shown to have therapeutic properties against a range of organisms including: Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA), Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus, Bacillus circulans, Bacillus cereus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes and Micrococcus.

In a further preferred form, Manuka honey from the Leptospermum scoparium tree may be used in the composition. Use of this type of honey may produce enhanced results.

The composition may comprise varying mass percentages of honey and oil.

Typically, the mass composition is comprised of 95-99% honey and 1-5% oil.

The preferred mass composition comprises 98% honey and 2% sandalwood oil.

The composition preferably comprises only honey and oil. However, the composition may further comprise other ingredients as necessary to produce a convenient composition such as gelling or thickening agents, preservatives or water.

The composition is preferably in a form suitable for topical applications such as in the form of a liquid, ointment, cream, lotion, spray, gel or dressing.

The composition may be applied in another form other than a topical application, such as oral or internal application.

The composition has a range of medicinal and therapeutic benefits including antimicrobial and antibacterial activity and for use in the treatment of wounds including as a preventative and treatment for wound sepsis. In contrast to conventional antibiotics, the composition of this invention is unlikely to generate genetic mutation to resistance in target organisms. The reason for this is that the composition is constituted of a large number of molecules with diverse modes of biological action.

Further benefits of the composition of this invention are that it is aesthetically pleasing, both in its texture and in an olfactory sense, and at the same time having therapeutic and medicinal benefits. Since both of the major constituents of the composition are non-toxic, they will be unlikely to induce any adverse reactions in a patient, and will not react with any other medicinal agents.

The composition may be used against certain organisms including Helicobacter Pyloris, Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA), Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus, Bacillus circulans, Bacillus cereus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes and Micrococcus.

The composition has been found to be particularly effective against Streptococcus pyogenes.

The composition may be used in the treatment of burns and the wound infection resulting therefrom. Wound infection of this kind causes bacterial colonisation and manifests a strong inflammatory response and a high degree of pain. Since both honey and sandalwood oil demonstrate anti-inflammatory activity, and sandalwood oil has demonstrated analgesic effects, the composition comprising these two components is particularly successful in this application.

The Enterobacteriaceae (including Eschericia coli, Serratia spp., Klebsiella spp, Enterobacter spp., and Citrobacter spp.) are aetiological agents of wound sepsis.

Honey is reported in the literature as having a bacteriostatic effect on E.coli.

Post-operative wound infection, including puerperal sepsis, which occurs post or during childbirth is generally caused by S.aureus or Group A Streptococcus (S.

pyogenes). Like most septic events, puerperal sepsis is often fatal. Australian sandalwood oil is biocidal towards both the causative organisms of puerperal sepsis. Thus it is envisaged that the composition may also be effective in these situations.

The invention further comprises a method of treating a disease, infection or disorder in a patient comprising administering to the patient a composition comprising honey and an oil, the oil having therapeutic, medicinal or cosmetic benefits.

Preferably the composition is administered topically.

The invention still further comprises a method of preparing a composition comprising the steps of: introducing an appropriate amount of honey into a mixing vessel; introducing an appropriate amount of sandalwood oil to the mixing vessel; and stirring with a high shear mixer for a suitable time period.

Preferably, the method further comprises the step of allowing the composition to stand and settle for a period of time. This is for the purpose of allowing gas (air) introduced during the mixing process to escape from the liquid composition. The composition may also be covered during the settling stage.

Preferably, the mass percentage ratios of honey to sandalwood oil may be in the ratio of 98% of honey and 2% sandalwood oil. Stirring is typically conducted for one hour and the process may conveniently be carried out at room temperature.

The composition of the invention has been shown to have enhanced medicinal and therapeutic benefits over the benefits achieved by the separate components of honey and sandalwood oil. This is an unexpected result and it would appear that there may be a synergic effect occurring between the honey and the sandalwood oil to produce the enhanced results.

Thus, treatment of a range of medical problems may be effected using the composition of this invention without the need for antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment, for example with amoxycillin, clarithromycin tetracycline and metranidazole, has the disadvantage of causing unwanted side effects as well as other disadvantages such as the need for repeated endoscopies, biopsies and repeated courses of the antibiotic.

Best Mode(s) for Carrying Out the Invention An example of the invention will be described but it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto and can be carried out in other forms.

The composition of the invention is prepared in the following way: 98 kilograms of honey is introduced into a mixing vessel; 2 kilograms of sandalwood oil is added to the mixing vessel; the honey and sandalwood oil are stirred with a high shear mixer for about one hour at room temperature to produce a batch of the honey composition; and the batch of the honey composition is allowed to stand and settle for a period of time before packaging into suitable containers ready for use.

The time for which the composition is allowed to stand and settle is typically overnight, or at least eight hours, in order to allow gas (air) introduced during the mixing process to escape from the composition.

The packaged composition may be sterilised in any appropriate way, such as for example by irradiation with gamma radiation.

The composition is applied topically to the skin of a patient requiring treatment, for example by applying the composition to a wound.

Test Results In order to test the efficacy of the composition of the example of the invention, preliminary microbiological tests were conducted. The effect of a sample of the composition on two types of organisms was measured relative to the effect on a sample of honey on its own. The two organisms used in the test were Escherichia coli coli) and Streptococcus pyogenes pyogenes).

Two sets of tests were conducted, namely Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Biocidal Concentration (MBC). The MIC test measures the concentration of product required to prevent the growth of chosen organisms and the MBC test measures the concentration of product required to affect the survival of chosen organisms.

Results were as follows: Product Organism MIC

MBC

Honey and E.coli A 37.5% concentration A 50% concentration of Sandalwood of the product prevents the product has a growth of this organism, biocidal (kill) effect against this organism.

S. pyogenes A 0.2% concentration of A 0.39% concentration the product prevents of the product has a growth of this organism, biocidal (kill) effect against this organism.

Honey E.coli A 50% concentration of A 50% concentration of the product prevents the product has a growth of this organism. biocidal (kill) effect against this organism.

S.pyogenese An 18.8% concentration No biocidal activity of the product prevents observed.

growth of this organism.

Thus it can be seen that the test sample comprising honey and sandalwood shows an inhibitory and a biocidal effect against E. coli and S. pyogenes.

-9- Furthermore, the results show that the honey and sandalwood composition has a beneficial effect over the honey alone on the inhibition of growth for both organisms. The honey and sandalwood composition shows a beneficial biocidal ("kill") effect on S. pyogenes when compared to the sample of honey.

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Claims (23)

1. A composition comprising honey and an oil, the oil having therapeutic, medicinal or cosmetic benefits.

2. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the oil comprises a natural, therapeutic, aromatherapeutic, essential or synthetic oil.

3. A composition according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the oil has biocidal, antimicrobial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory or bacteriostatic effects.

4. A composition according to any of the preceding claims wherein the oil comprises sandalwood oil.

5. A composition according to claim 4 wherein the oil comprises sandalwood oil from the Australian Santalum Spicatum tree.

6. A composition according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the oil is selected from a group comprising basil, bergamot, birch, chamomile, clary sage, eucalyptus, fir, geranium, lavender, pine and tea-tree oil.

7. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the oil is of pure pharmaceutical grade.

8. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the honey is filtered and sterilised.

9. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the honey comprises honey from the Australian Eucalyptus Marginata tree.

A composition according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the honey comprises honey from trees of the genus Leptospermum. -11-

11. A composition according to claim 10 wherein the honey comprises Manuka honey from the Leptospermum scoparium tree.

12. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims comprising 99% of honey by weight and 1-5% of oil by weight.

13. A composition according to claim 12 comprising 98% honey by mass and 2% sandalwood oil by mass.

14. A method of treating a disease, infection or disorder in a patient comprising administering to the patient a composition according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A method according to claim 14 wherein the composition is administered topically.

16. A method of preparing a composition comprising the steps of: introducing an appropriate amount of honey into a mixing vessel; introducing an appropriate amount of sandalwood oil to the mixing vessel; and stirring with a high shear mixer for a suitable time period.

17. A method according to claim 16 further comprising the step of allowing the composition to stand and settle.

18. A method according to claim 16 or 17 wherein the mass percentage ratio of honey to sandalwood oil is about 98% of honey and 2% sandalwood oil.

19. A method according to claim 16, 17 or 18 wherein the stirring step is performed for about one hour.

A method according to anyone of claims 16 to 18 wherein the stirring step is performed at room temperature.

21. A composition according to claim 1 substantially as herein described. -12-

22. A method of preparing a composition substantially as herein described.

23. A method of treating a disease, infection or disorder in a patient substantially as herein described. Dated this Tenth day of March 2003. Wescobee Limited Applicant Wray Associates Perth, Western Australia Patent Attorneys for the Applicant