Stingless Bee Honey Reduces Anxiety and Improves Memory of the Metabolic Disease-induced Rats

Abstract

Background: Scientific studies support the evidence of the involvement of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases through oxidative stress. Consumption of antioxidant compounds was found to be beneficial for brain-health as it reduced the brain oxidative stress level and improved cognitive performance in animals. Stingless bee honey or locally known as Kelulut Honey (KH) has high phenolic content and is widely used as a food supplement. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of KH on the brain of MetS-induced rats. Methods: Forty male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups; 8 weeks (C8) and 16 weeks control groups (C16), groups that received High-Carbohydrate High Fructose (HCHF) diet for 8 weeks (MS8) and 16 weeks (MS16), and a group that received HCHF for 16 weeks with KH supplemented for the last 35 days (KH). Results: Serum fasting blood glucose decreased in the KH group compared to the MS16 group. HDL levels were significantly decreased in MetS groups compared to control groups. Open field experiments showed that KH group exhibits less anxious behavior compared to the MetS group. Probe trial of Morris water maze demonstrated significant memory retention of KH group compared to the MS16 group. Nissl staining showed a significant decrease in the pyramidal hippocampal cells in the MS16 compared to the KH group. Conclusion: KH has the ability to normalise blood glucose and reduce serum triglyceride and LDL levels in MetS rats, while behavior studies complement its effect on anxiety and memory. This shows a promising role of KH in attenuating neurodegenerative diseases through the antioxidant activity of its polyphenolic content.

Protective effect of honey on learning and memory impairment, depression and neurodegeneration induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress

“…Morris water maze test is one of the most widely used tests as hippocampaldependent spatial learning and memory performance (Liu et al, 2014;Wu et al, 2017). In the present study, we found that impairment in both learning and memory performance induced by CUMS was significantly reversed by honey supplementation, which was consistent with previous studies (Abdulmajeed et al, 2016;Arshad et al, 2020;Azman et al, 2015;Azman et al, 2016;Othman et al, 2011). Generally, the evidence indicated that honey supplementation attenuated depression and learning and memory comorbidities induced by CUMS.…”

Antioxidant-Based Medicinal Properties of Stingless Bee Products: Recent Progress and Future Directions

“…Therefore, SBH displayed capabilities in improving spatial working memory, spatial reference memory and memory consolidations. Another study also suggested that SBH improves memory and reduces anxiety, in addition to its potential to reduce triglyceride, LDL, and normalize blood glucose in rats with metabolic syndrome [ 24 ].…”

Vitamin K in COVID-19—Potential Anti-COVID-19 Properties of Fermented Milk Fortified with Bee Honey as a Natural Source of Vitamin K and Probiotics

“…Meanwhile, SARS-CoV-2 invasion activates multiple signaling cascades that alter metabolism in order to create conditions favorable for viral replication [28,31,62]. Both honey and fermented milk are capable of correcting metabolic dysfunctions [33,144]. Reduction of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio by probiotics (such as those found in honey and fermented milk) is associated with improvement in metabolism and reduction in toxic metabolites such as chenodeoxycholic acid, deoxycholic acid, lithocholic acid, d-talose, and N-acetylglucosamine, along with decreased depletion of d-glucose and l-methionine, as well as upregulation of the metabolism of pyruvate, retinol, and PPAR in the liver [145].…”

“…Neuroprotective Properties of Fermented Milk Supplemented with Honey Experimentally, natural honey is reported to protect astrocytes against oxidative stress, which may be associated with neuroprotection against neurodegeneration [99]. Cumulative knowledge shows that bee honey exerts antidepressant, anxiolytic, and cognitiveenhancing properties in experimental animals and humans [138,144,146,147]. Fermented milk is reported to improve cognitive functioning in experimental animals with induced cognitive dysfunction [148], Alzheimer's disease transgenic mice [149], and healthy older adults undergoing cognitive fatigue [141].…”