The Beneficial Effects of Stingless Bee Honey from Heterotrigona itama against Metabolic Changes in Rats Fed with High-Carbohydrate and High-Fat Diet

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of conditions including central obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertension that increases the risk for cardiometabolic diseases. Kelulut honey (KH) produced by stingless honey bees has stronger antioxidant properties compared to other honey types and may be a functional food against MetS. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of KH in preventing metabolic changes in rats with MetS induced by high-carbohydrate and high-fat (HCHF) diet. Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to the control (C), HCHF diet-induced MetS (S), and MetS supplemented with KH (K) groups. The K group was given KH (1 g/kg/day) for eight weeks. Compared to the control, the S group had significant higher omental fat mass, serum triglyceride, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressures, adipocyte area, and adipocyte perimeter (p < 0.05). KH supplementation significantly prevented these MetS-induced changes at week 16 (p < 0.05). Several compounds, including 4-hydroxyphenyl acetic acid, coumaric and caffeic acids, had been detected via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis that might contribute to the reversal of these changes. The beneficial effects of KH against MetS-induced rats provide the basis for future KH research to investigate its potential use in humans and its molecular mechanisms in alleviating the disease.

Physicochemical and Medicinal Properties of Tualang, Gelam and Kelulut Honeys: A Comprehensive Review

“…Only Gelam and Kelulut honeys have been found to show anti-obesity properties in animal studies [ 117 , 118 , 119 ], as provided in Table 8 . Supplementation of Kelulut honey yielded a higher reduction in body mass index (BMI), the percentage of body weight gain, adiposity index, and relative organ weight in a high-fat diet-induced obese rat model than that of orlistat, an anti-obesity drug [ 117 ].…”

“…Supplementation of Kelulut honey yielded a higher reduction in body mass index (BMI), the percentage of body weight gain, adiposity index, and relative organ weight in a high-fat diet-induced obese rat model than that of orlistat, an anti-obesity drug [ 117 ]. Meanwhile, another study has shown that Kelulut honey could prevent changes, such as high omental fat mass, serum triglyceride, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressures, adipocyte area and adipocyte perimeter, caused by metabolic syndrome-induced rats [ 119 ].…”

Augmentation of the Female Reproductive System Using Honey: A Mini Systematic Review

“…Moreover, antioxidant compounds in honey exert an anti-obesity effect, which is favourable for diabetics as it attenuates insulin resistance. The anti-obesity effect of honey in adipocytes is demonstrated by coumaric and caffeic acids via arresting adipocytes in the G1 phase of cell cycle and inhibiting fatty acid synthase [ 63 ].…”

The Mechanism of Honey in Reversing Metabolic Syndrome

“…The rats showed reduced BMI, percentage body weight gain, adiposity index, and relative liver weight after a 6-week honey supplementation (500–1000 mg/kg) [ 85 ]. Ramli and colleagues also observed a reduction in body fat and omental fat mass in rats supplemented with 1 g/kg/day of Kelulut honey for 8 weeks [ 86 ]. Romero-Silva and colleagues observed a significantly lower weight gain as well as smaller fat cells in rats supplemented with a hypercaloric diet containing 20% honey (unknown source) compared with the sucrose-fed rats for 8 weeks [ 87 ].…”