Honey may be the next pharmaceutical target to identify the single ingredient medicine for the treatment of diseases associated with oxidative stress, some scientists suggested.
Oxidative stress is a result of an imbalance in the ratio of free radicals and antioxidants in the body.
Free radicals are highly reactive molecules with an unpaired electron on the outer ring of the atom.
Due to their nature to become stable, free radicals readily donate or steal an electron from other molecules, leading to the chain of domino effect that can not be stopped until either the electrons are paired or inhibited by antioxidants.
This chain of reaction is the cause of oxidative stress, a condition associated with either overexpression of free radicals or depletion of antioxidant enzymes produced by the host organs.
Overexpression of free radicals is known to cause damage in contributing to the etiology of many chronic health problems such as cardiovascular and inflammatory disease, cataracts, and cancer.
Antioxidants, on the other hand, are stable molecules with a unique function in the inhibition of oxidation.
Dr. V. Lobo, the lead author in the study "Free radicals, antioxidants, and functional foods: Impact on human health" wrote, " A balance between free radicals and antioxidants is necessary for proper physiological function. If free radicals overwhelm the body's ability to regulate them, a condition known as oxidative stress ensues", and
"Free radicals thus adversely alter lipids, proteins, and DNA and trigger a number of human diseases. Hence the application of an external source of antioxidants can assist in coping with this oxidative stress. Synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole have recently been reported to be dangerous for human health".
These results suggested that regardless of the causes of the overexpression of free radicals, intake of dietary sources of antioxidants from a supplement, herbs, fruits, and vegetables can be beneficial in restoring the healthy ratio of free radicals and antioxidants and preventing the onset of oxidative stress.
Honey is a miraculous product made by bees using nectar from flowers.
The rich golden liquid is considered of healthy sweet food for replacing the use of white sugar and artificial sweetener by many people.
In order to understand the honey antioxidant activity which has been under intensified study by the science community, a joint study led by the researchers conducted was conducted in an animal model.
Ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in rats were randomly assigned to control, ethanol (ulcer), omeprazole, and manuka honey.
Honey-treated rats displayed a clinically significant decrease in the ulcer index by completely protecting the mucosa from lesions and preserving gastric mucosal glycoprotein.
Application of manuka honey also decreased gastric mucosal MDA, the marker of oxidative stress and plasma TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 concentrations, the set of proinflammatory cytokines produced by the ethanol injection.
The results were attributed to the manuka honey in stimulating the production of antioxidant enzymes which were suppressed by the injection of ethanol in the tested rats.
The finding suggested that manuka honey exerted a strong antioxidant activity by balancing the ratio of free radicals and antioxidant enzymes in the treatment group.
In other words, manuka honey inhibited the oxidative stress caused by the overexpression of free radicals in the initiation of the onset of the ulcer.
Further differentiation to reaffirm the effects of manuka honey in the inhibition of gastric ulcers in the rat model, researchers examined three different concentrations of honey applied to the tested rats.
During the experiment, researchers found that all 3 different concentrations display a strong effect in It reducing the mucosal myeloperoxidase activity, lipid peroxidation (MDA), and the inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) compared to the untreated control group.
In other words, manuka honey protects the rat stomach by inhibiting the overexpression of free radicals and proinflammatory cytokines in inducing oxidative stress.
Application manuka honey also showed a significant increase in enzymatic (GPx and SOD) and non-enzymatic (GSH) antioxidants which were reduced due to ulcer and levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10.
The Flow cytometry assay also indicated that treatment of rats with manuka honey has normalized cell cycle distribution and significantly lowered apoptosis in gastric mucosa.
The information collected strongly support the use of manuka honey for the treatment of chronic ulcer and the preservation of mucosal glycoproteins.
Dr. Almasaudi SB wrote in the final report, "Its (manuka honey) effects are due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that resulted in a significant reduction of the gastric mucosal MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 and caused an elevation in IL-10 levels.
Taken all together, there is no doubt that manuka honey high in antioxidants can be considered a functional food for the prevention and combined with the primary medicine for the treatment of diseases associated with oxidative stress.
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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the Karate GB Daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as the international journal Pharma ISSN 0975-6299.
Sources
(1) Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, and Antiulcer Potential of Manuka Honey against Gastric Ulcer in Rats by Almasaudi SB1, El-Shitany NA2, Abbas AT3, Abdel-dayem UA4, Ali SS5, Al Jaouni SK6, Harakeh S. (PubMed)
(2) Manuka Honey Exerts Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities That Promote Healing of Acetic Acid-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Rats by Almasaudi SB1, Abbas AT2, Al-Hindi RR1, El-Shitany NA3, Abdel-Dayem UA4, Ali SS5, Saleh RM6, Al Jaouni SK7, Kamal MA8, Harakeh SM. (PubMed)
(3) Protective effects of Manuka honey on LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Part 2: Control of oxidative stress induced damage, increase of antioxidant enzyme activities, and attenuation of inflammation by Gasparrini M1, Afrin S1, Forbes-Hernández TY1, Cianciosi D1, Reboredo-Rodriguez P2, Amici A1, Battino M1, Giampieri F3. (PubMed)
(4) The inflammation theory of disease. The growing realization that chronic inflammation is crucial in many diseases opens new avenues for treatment by Philip Hunter. (PubMed)
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