. 2023 Jul 6;15(13):3056. doi: 10.3390/nu15133056

Table 6.

Effects of honey on cough and gastroenteritis in children.

Honey	Dose	Duration	Subjects	Physiological Parameter	Effect	References
Buckwheat honey	Children aged 2 to 5 (1/2 teaspoon), 6 to 11 (1 teaspoon), 12 to 18 (2 teaspoons) Single dose	1 d	Children with upper URTIs 5.02 ± 3.99 years	Cough frequency	↓ ^a	[42]
				Combined symptom score	↓ ^a
				Bothersome cough	↓
				Cough severity	↓
				Sleep quality	↑
				Parents’ sleep quality	↑
Iranian natural honey from Kafi-Abad, Yazd	2.5 mL Single dose	1 d	Children with URTIs 3.15 ± 0.93 years	Cough frequency	↓ ^a	[43]
				Cough severity	↓^a
				Sleep quality	↑ ^a
				Parents’ sleep quality	↑ ^a
Eucalyptus, citrus or Labiatae honey	10 g Single dose	1 d	Children with URTIs 2.4 years	Cough frequency	↓ ^a	[44]
				Combined symptom score	↓ ^a
				Bothersome cough	↓ ^a
				Cough severity	↓ ^a
				Sleep quality	↑ ^a
				Parents’ sleep quality	↑ ^a
Nairobi dark honey	Children aged 1 to 2 (2.5 mL), 2 to 6 (5 mL), 6 to 12 (7.5 mL) Three times daily	5 d	Children with a common cold 1–12 years	Cough frequency	↓ ^a	[45]
				Combined symptom score	↓ ^a
				Bothersome cough	↓ ^a
				Cough severity	↓ ^a
				Cough duration	↓ ^a
				Sleep quality	↑ ^a
				Parents’ sleep quality	↑ ^a
Two kinds of Iranian honey: Kimia honey and Golha honey	Children aged 1 to 6 (2.5 mL), 7 to 12 (5 mL), Two doses	2 d	Children with URTIs 3.5 ± 1.6 years	Cough frequency	↓ ^b	[46]
				Combined standard score	↓ ^a
				Bothersome cough	↓ ^a
				Sleep quality	↑ ^b
				Parents’ sleep quality	↑ ^a
Acacia honey	3 mL Single dose	2 d	Children with URTIs 2.5 years	Cough frequency	↓	[47]
				Combined symptom score	↓
				Bothersome cough	↓
				Cough severity	↓
				Cough duration	↑
				Sleep quality	↑
Pure honey	50 mL/L of rehydration solution vs. 50 mL/L of glucose	Duration of gastroenteritis	Children with gastroenteritis 1.39 ± 1.82 years	Bacterial gastroenteritis recovery time	↓ ^a	[48]

d: day; URTIs: upper respiratory tract infections; ↑: increase; ↓: decrease. ^a Significantly different (p < 0.05) from the control group. ^b Significantly different (p < 0.05) for one type of honey.