Does Manuka Honey work as an effective bactericidal agent?

Question

Several articles (e.g. organijar.com or healthdiaries.com) mention that Manuka Honey can do wonders like:

Sore Throat Treatment

Stomach Ulcer Treatment and Prevention

New research has shown the honey kills every type of bacteria scientists have thrown at it, including the antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ plaguing hospitals and killing patients around the world.

Does Manuka honey really work to effectively kill bacteria outside the laboratory?

Answer 1

Per Cooper and Jenkins in 2012, good reasons to consider using honey produced from the Leptospermum scoparium (manuka) plant from New Zealand clinically as an alternative to conventional antimicrobials are lack of selection of honey-resistant mutants and lack of cytotoxicity. However per the authors, comparison of manuka honey with antimicrobials mupirocin in randomized clinical trials is needed in the future to investigate the efficacy of decolonization.

Despite accumulating evidence of the efficacy of manuka honey in inhibiting wound pathogens in vitro, substantive in vivo data are required because practitioners influenced by evidence-based medicine are likely to need objective clinical evidence before they risk adding manuka honey to their armament as a first-choice topical treatment. Comparison of manuka honey with mupirocin in randomized clinical trials is now needed to investigate the efficacy of decolonization of MRSA from colonized wounds or nasal carriage.

Features of Manuka Honey per Jing Lu et.al. in 2013

1. Broad-spectrum activity against wound pathogens: Manuka honey is able to inhibit a diverse range of bacterial and yeast pathogens, and is equally effective against multi-drug resistant bacteria. "The manuka honeys were the most effective at inhibiting growth, followed by the manuka-kanuka blends and then the kanuka honeys."
2. Prevent the formation of biofilms and can disrupt pre-formed biofilms.
3. Resistance to manuka honey has never been observed and could not be attained under laboratory conditions that rapidly induced resistance to conventional antibiotics.
4. Honey stimulates the immune system and can promote wound healing.

Per Maddocks and Jenkins in 2013, "medical grade honeys need to continue to undergo robust, appropriate clinical trials if they are to find a place in clinical practice as a prophylactic or treatment for wound infection".