Gastro-protective Effects of Honey in Male Wistar Rats

Honey is consumed as food and also used in the treatments of ailment. However, honey of various types exhibit varying properties. Their therapeutic effects are determined by whether the honey is multifloral or monofloral, and also on the variety of nectars the honey is derived from. Manuka and Tualang types of honey were observed to possess anti-ulcer effects. However, no such report is available for University of Ilorin honey. This study therefore aimed to determine the gastroprotective effects of University of Ilorin honey in Wistar rats using two laboratory models for inducing ulcer (HCl/Ethanol and Indomethacin). Twenty rats each were assigned to four groups for each model of ulcer. The rats were treated for 12 days with the administration of distilled water (control), cimetidine (100 mg/kg b.w.) and University of Ilorin honey (250 mg/kg b.w. in one group and 1000 mg/kg b.w in another group). The rats were fasted for 24 hours after the last treatment. Then, the ulcerogens were given orally. After four hours, the rats were sacrificed, gastric juice was collected and the stomachs were examined for ulceration. The results revealed that pre-treatment with University of Ilorin honey reduced gastric index from 6.80±0.20 (1000 mg/kg b.w. to 2.40±0.24 (control) P<0.05 and 7.20±0.37 (1000 mg/kg b.w.) to 3.20±0.37 (control) P<0.05 in HCl/Ethanol and indomethacin induced ulcer models respectively. There was no significant difference in ulcer index between the cimetidine administered rats and the honey administered group (1000 mg/kg bw.), but the honey group (250 mg/kg bw.) was less effective than the cimetidine group in the models used. Also, there were no changes in gastric acidity in all the groups compared with the control group. In conclusion, the results showed that University of Ilorin honey has protective effect on the gastrointestinal tract which is not due to alteration of gastric acidity.