Table 4.
Antihypertensive effects of honey in clinical and pre-clinical studies.
| Author | Honey Sources/Types | Dose | Duration | Models | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erejuwa et al. (2012) [14] | Tualang honey | 1 g/kg | 84 days | WKY and SHR | The elevated SBP in SHR was significantly reduced when treated with TH (p < 0.01). Honey supplementation did not affect SBP in normotensive WKY. |
| Erejuwa et al. (2011) [84] | Tualang honey | 1 g/kg | 21 days | STZ-induced diabetic WKY and SHR | TH reduced blood pressure in STZ-induced diabetic SHR, but not in STZ-induced diabetic WKY (p < 0.01). |
| Yong et al. (2016) [87] | Tualang honey | 0.01% to 1% | Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were pre-treated with TH for 4 h | HUVECs | TH suppressed the actin remodelling, caveolin-1 production and reduced the disruption of endothelial adherence junctions thus inhibiting H2O2-induced endothelial permeability |
| Romero-Silva et al. (2011) [91] | Unknown honey species | 20% added in diet | 56 days | Wistar rats | Rats given honey in their hypercaloric diet showed no increase in blood pressure compared to rats that did not receive honey (p < 0.05). |
| Al-Waili (2003) [92] | Unknown honey species | Inhalation of honey solution (60% w/v) | Once for 10 min | 24 healthy individuals, 16 type II DM patients and 6 hypertensive patients | Blood pressure was decreased in hypertensive patients significantly at 60 and 120 min after honey inhalation. |
| Aluko et al. (2013) [93] | Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria | 20 mL | Once | 100 individuals (50 males and 50 females) | Honey administration significantly reduced SBP in males, and females. |
| Aluko et al. (2014) [94] | Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria | 20 mL | Once | 50 males | Honey significantly decreased SBP after 15, 30 and 60 min of consumption compared to baseline value (110.20 ± 2.14 mmHg, 111.33 ± 2.14 mmHg, 110.4 ± 2.08 mmHg vs. 117.80 ± 0.88 mmHg) |
DM, diabetes mellitus; H2O2, hydrogen peroxide; HUVEC, human umbilical vein endothelial cells; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SHR, spontaneously hypertensive rats; STZ, streptozotocin; TH, tualang honey; WKY, Wistar-Kyoto rats.