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MADISON, S.D.鈥� When Denyce Bravo had to decide on a research project proposal for her biological instrumentation class, she knew she wanted to do something with bees.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the fact that bees are going extinct right now, and they are just so important in our environment. They play so many important roles,鈥� Bravo said.

But she was faced with some challenges when it came to narrowing down her topic.

鈥淚t was going into winter during that time, so I was like, maybe something that is with honey, because honey is connected to bees,鈥� Bravo said. 鈥淚 also liked our microbiology class with Dr. Sathoff, so I connected honey and microbiology.鈥�

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Her project looks at the anti-microbial potential of alfalfa honey against human and plant pathogens.

鈥淩ight now, the antimicrobial resistance problem around the world is so big, so exploring different options for antimicrobial treatment is good research,鈥� Bravo said.

Andrew Sathoff, assistant professor of biology at Dakota State University, has a background in alfalfa research. Together, he and Bravo have been working with local beekeepers who produce alfalfa honey to test the antibacterial properties of the honey.

鈥淵ou may have heard that a lot of antibiotics aren鈥檛 working very well anymore. So, there has been a shift to find antibiotics from different sources,鈥� Sathoff said. 鈥淗oney has been historically used as a medicinal substance, and we are just trying to figure out if alfalfa honey has activity against bacteria and why.鈥�

Through their research, they have compared alfalfa honey to other varieties of honey, like manuka honey, that have high antimicrobial activity and are used for medicinal settings, and they have concluded that alfalfa honey is just as good or sometimes even better than the other honeys.

鈥淲e are just trying to uncover exactly what about the alfalfa honey makes it a good treatment against bacteria,鈥� Sathoff said. 鈥淲e are looking, and we are characterizing the honey for hydrogen peroxide content, protein content. We are looking at the small antimicrobial proteins from bees that is in the alfalfa honey to see if those have activity, so we are just trying to figure out why.鈥�

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Traditionally, honey has been used as an antibiotic.

鈥淲e are trying to re-evaluate some of these practices that work and figure out exactly why they work,鈥� Sathoff said. 鈥淪o, using honey as an antibiotic, it is actually used in medicinal settings. When there is a MRSA infection or something else that is not responding to antibiotics at all, one of the last lines of defense is using manuka honey.鈥�

They are also testing alfalfa honey to see if it is effective against alfalfa pathogens.

鈥淥ur initial tests also show that alfalfa honey is effective against plant pathogens as well as human pathogens,鈥� Sathoff said. 鈥淪o maybe some of the proteins inside of the alfalfa honey can be converted into biopesticides, more environmentally friendly pesticides.鈥�

Right now, if you want to treat alfalfa against bacterial diseases, you would have to spray antibiotics on the alfalfa, Sathoff explained.

鈥淎nd that is not very environmentally friendly,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think this research line has more of an application in the agricultural field in opposed to the medicinal field, but we don鈥檛 know. We are just starting. This is our first year on this work. This project is going to be continued into next year, and we are going to get a couple more students to work on it.鈥�

Most likely, the compound used to treat plant pathogens from the alfalfa honey would be synthetic.

鈥淵ou would convert these defensins 鈥� so those are the antimicrobial compounds that we are looking at right now 鈥� you would convert those defensins into biofungicides or biopesticides,鈥� Sathoff said. 鈥淭he defensins we are working with that are in the alfalfa honey actually come from honeybees. So these honeybee proteins could be converted into some type of antibacterial treatment, whether it鈥檚 for plants or humans."

Alfalfa honey makes up one-third of the honey produced in the United States and is common in South Dakota and surrounding states.

鈥淚 feel like most folks don鈥檛 know alfalfa plays such a prominent role in South Dakota agriculture. It flies under the radar below corn and soy, so this research will highlight that there鈥檚 alfalfa in the state and there are value-added alfalfa products in the state, like honey,鈥� Sathoff said.

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For Bravo, this hands-on research is providing a valuable aspect to her undergraduate degree. She is currently a senior at Dakota State University studying biology with a minor in chemistry, and she hopes to continue on to earn her doctorate.

鈥淢ost of the time it鈥檚 just me myself thinking, but whenever there鈥檚 a problem, I just talk to Dr. Sathoff and he gives me tips, but he still gives me space to think and that really helps me grow intellectually, and I think I am ready to do advanced research because of that,鈥� she said.

Bravo hopes that through this research, she will give people another reason to appreciate honeybees, alfalfa and the locally produced products.

鈥淚 want people to appreciate bees more, like what they do for the environment,鈥� Bravo said.

She will be presenting her research findings in a poster in Atlanta in the summer.