Methods: Seventy-two postmenopausal women with stage I, II, or III breast cancer from the Oncology Clinic, Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital were treated with anastrozole (1 mg/day). Patients were randomly assigned to one of the two groups (n = 36/group): a control group (no honey) and a honey group (20 g/day of honey for 12 weeks). Fasting blood samples were obtained pre- and post-intervention to investigate differences in the haematological, renal, and liver profiles of patients in both the groups.
Results: Post-intervention, alanine aminotransferase levels were significantly higher in the control group than in the honey group. In the honey group, white blood cell counts, platelet counts, and creatinine levels were significantly higher following honey supplementation for 12 weeks. Nevertheless, the values were still within normal ranges.
Conclusions: The present study suggests that honey supplementation of 20 g/day for 12 weeks is safe and beneficial for postmenopausal breast cancer patients.
METHODS: Forty female, Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups (n =8): four controls and one test arm. The control arm comprised a baseline control, sham-operated control, ovariectomized control, and ovariectomized calcium-treated rats (receiving 1% calcium in drinking water ad libitum). The test arm was composed of ovariectomized, Tualang honey-treated rats (received 0.2 g/kg body weight of Tualang honey). Both the sham-operated control and ovariectomized control groups received vehicle treatment (deionized water), and the baseline control group was sacrificed without treatment.
RESULTS: All rats were orally gavaged daily for six weeks after day one post-surgery. The bone structural analysis of rats in the test arm group showed a significant increase in the bone volume per tissue volume (BV/TV), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) and trabecular number (Tb.N) and a significant decrease in inter-trabecular space (Tb.Sp) compared with the ovariectomized control group. The trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) in the test arm group was significantly higher compared with the ovariectomized-calcium treated group, and the inter-trabecular space (Tb.Sp) in the test arm group was significantly narrower compared with the ovariectomized-calcium treated group.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, ovariectomized rats that received Tualang honey showed more improvements in trabecular bone structure than the rats that received calcium.
METHODS: The present study examined the inhibitory effects of all collected honey on the release of selected inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-8, histamine, and β-hexosaminidase in an activated HMC. Besides that, all honey's total phenolic content (TPC) was also examined, followed by using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify the phytochemicals in the honey. Further examination of the identified phytochemicals on their potential interaction with selected signaling molecules in an activated mast cell was conducted using computational methods.
RESULTS: The results indicated that there were significant inhibitory effects on all selected inflammatory mediators' release by KH sourced from bamboo (BH) and rubber tree (RH) at 0.5% and 1%, but not KH sourced from mango (AH) and noni (EH). BH and RH were found to have higher TPC values and were rich in their phytochemical profiles based on the LC-MS/MS results. Computational studies were employed to determine the possible molecular target of KH through molecular docking using HADDOCK and PRODIGY web servers.
CONCLUSIONS: In short, the results indicated that KH possesses anti-allergic effects towards an activated HMC, possibly by targeting downstream MAPKs. However, their anti-allergic effects may vary according to their botanical sources. Nevertheless, the present study has provided insight into the potential application of stingless bee honey as a complementary and alternative medicine to treat various allergic diseases.
Method: This was a cross-sectional study involved 80 individuals, diagnosed with schizophrenia. The Malay Version Auditory Verbal Learning Test (MVAVLT) was used. Data were analysed using SPSS 20.0 software. Intention to treat analysis was applied.
Result: A comparison of the total learning score at eight weeks between the two groups based on time effect and time-treatment interaction favoured TH group.
Conclusion: This study concludes that by supplementing schizophrenia patients with 8-week of TH did improve total learning performance across domains in the immediate memory among patients with schizophrenia.