Table 1.
Studies examining the effect of acute honey supplementation on biochemical responses to a single exercise session.
| Study | Participants | Design | Exercise Stimulus | Nutritional Intervention | Data Collection Method and Time-Points | Outcome Variables | Main Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbey and Rankin [47] | Male soccer players of NCAA Division I, post collegiate, and club standard (n = 10). | Randomised, single blind, crossover. | Soccer specific exercise (5 × 15 min blocks, plus 10 min half-time), followed by progressive 20 m shuttle run to fatigue. | 6% CHO-electrolyte solution (honey, commercial sports drink, or placebo). 8.8 mL∙kg−1 (0.5 g∙kg∙body mass−1) CHO consumed 30 min pre-exercise and at half-time. | Blood samples at 30 min pre-exercise (T1), immediately post-exercise (T2), 60 min post-exercise (T3). | Blood glucose, insulin, cortisol, plasma volume, IL-1ra, IL-6 and IL-10, total ORAC, and plasma ORAC. | Plasma IL-1ra was ↓ at T2 for honey vs. sports drink, and ↓ at T3 for honey vs. placebo. ↔ between trials for glucose, insulin, cortisol, plasma volume, IL-6, IL-10, total or plasma ORAC. |
| Ahmad et al. [48] | Male runners of recreational standard (n = 10). | Randomised, single blind, crossover. | 60 min run at ~65% V̇O2 max, followed by 2 h ‘rehydration phase’ and 20 min treadmill running test. | 6.8% CHO solution (honey) or water to recover 150% of body mass lost during run one. Fluid consumed 0 min (60% of mass loss), 30 min (50%), and 60 min (40%) after run one. | Blood samples at pre (T1), immediately post (T2), 30 min post (T3), 60 min post (T4), 90 min post (T5), and 120 min post (T6) 60 min run, and immediately post 20 min run (T7). | Blood glucose, serum insulin, haematocrit, and serum osmolality. | Serum insulin was ↑ at T3-T6 for honey vs. water. Serum osmolality was ↑ at T4 for honey vs. water. ↔ between trials for glucose or haematocrit. |
| Earnest et al. [46] | Amateur male cyclists (n = 9). | Randomised, double blind, counterbalanced, crossover. | 64 km time trial on cycling ergometer. | 15 g of gel (honey, dextrose, or placebo) with 250 mL H2O consumed every 16 km (5 × 15 g total) plus an additional 250 mL of water every 3.2 km. | Blood samples at pre-exercise (T1), 16 km (T2), 32 km (T3), 48 km (T4), and 64 km (T5). | Blood glucose and insulin concentrations. | ↔ between trials for glucose or insulin. In dextrose, glucose at T4 was ↓ vs. T1 (not the case for honey or placebo). |
| Kreider et al. [49] | Resistance trained individuals (n = 40; males: n = 19, females: n = 21). | Randomised, four independent groups. | 3 sets of 10 repetitions at approximately 70% of 1RM on chest press, seated row, shoulder press, lat pulldown, leg extension, leg curl, biceps curl, triceps extension, and leg press. | 40 g of whey protein with 120 g of either sucrose, powdered honey, or maltodextrin consumed within 5 min post-exercise. Other group consumed no supplement. | Blood samples at pre-exercise (T1), post exercise (T2), and 30 min (T3), 60 min (T4), 90 min (T5), and 120 min (T6) post-feeding. | Glucose, insulin, testosterone, cortisol, testosterone: cortisol ratio, WBC, neutrophils, total neutrophils: total lymphocytes ratio, creatinine, BUN, BUN: creatinine ratio, CK, LDH, AST, and ALT. |
Glucose at T4 was ↑ for honey vs sucrose, and at T3 was ↑ for honey vs. sucrose, maltodextrin, and no CHO. Insulin at T3-T6 was ↑ for honey, sucrose, and maltodextrin vs. no CHO. ↔ between groups for testosterone, cortisol, testosterone:cortisol, WBC, neutrophils, total neutrophils, total lymphocytes, LDH, AST, or ALT. BUN: creatinine at T5, was ↑ for honey and maltodextrin, and at T6 was ↑ for honey and sucrose vs. no CHO. |
| Łagowska et al. [45] | Trained male rowers (n = 11). | Randomised, crossover. | Rowing ergometer: 2 × 40 min with a 5 min break, performed at an intensity corresponding to ~75% of the onset of blood lactate accumulation. | 150 mL of CHO solution (either commercial sports drink; 7.8% CHO, or ‘natural’ drink containing banana, fruit juice, and honey; 6.7% CHO), consumed immediately pre-exercise and every 15 min during exercise (6 × 150 mL total). | Blood samples at pre-exercise (T1), and 3 min post-exercise (T2). | Blood glucose, lactate, chemical antioxidants, urea, CK, haematocrit, leukocytes, WBC, lymphocytes, monocytes, and granulocytes. | Glucose was ↓ at T2, for natural vs. commercial drink. Glucose at T2, was ↓ for natural, but ↑ for commercial drink vs. T1. Chemical antioxidant level at T2, was ↓ for natural vs. commercial drink. ↔ between trials for lactate, urea, CK, haematocrit, leukocytes, WBC, lymphocytes, monocytes, or granulocytes. |
ALT: alanine aminotransaminase, AST: aspartate aminotransaminase, BUN: blood urea nitrogen, CHO: carbohydrate, CK: creatine kinase, IL-1ra: interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, IL-6: interleukin-6, IL-10: interleukin-10, LDH: lactate dehydrogenase, NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association, ORAC: oxygen radical absorbance capacity, WBC: white blood cell counts, 1RM: one repetition maximum, ↑: increased/higher, ↓: decreased/lower, ↔: no difference.