Honey loaded alginate/PVA nanofibrous membrane as potential bioactive wound dressing

[Display omitted] •Honey/SA/PVA nanofibers were fabricated via all-aqueous electrospinning.•The effect of honey content on the swelling ratio of membrane was investigated.•Honey enhanced the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of nanofibers.•Honey/SA/PVA nanofiber membrane exhibited good biocompatibility. Honey is an ancient natural wound-healing agent and has been reintroduced to modern clinical wound care as it has various bioactivities. In this study, honey was incorporated into an alginate/PVA-based electrospun nanofibrous membrane to develop an efficient wound dressing material. The morphology and chemical composition of the nanofibrous membrane were observed by scanning electron microscopy and characterized via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively, demonstrating that honey was successfully introduced to the nanofibers. The nanofibrous membranes with increasing honey content showed enhanced antioxidant activity, suggesting the ability to control the overproduction of reactive oxygen species. Disc diffusion assay and dynamic contact assay proved the antibacterial activity of the honey loaded nanofibers towards Gram-positive bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacterium (Escherichia coli). The cytotoxicity assay illustrated the non-cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of the nanofibrous membranes. Therefore, the developed honey/alginate/PVA nanofibrous membranes are promising for wound dressings.