Effects of honey against the accumulation of adipose tissue and the increased blood pressure on carbohydrate-induced obesity in rat
TL;DR: Overall weight gain and body fat levels were significantly higher in SF and HF than in S-free, and honey may afford a protection against increase in BP and in fat cell size resulting from a hypercaloric diet.
Abstract: This study was designed to assess the effect of honey supplementation and sugar-based hypercaloric regimen on weight gain and blood pressure (BP) in Wistar rats. Animals were fed for 8 weeks with standard diet (S-free) or a hypercaloric diet (standard chow and 30% sugar in drinking water), (SF), or standard chow supplemented with fat and honey and 10% sugar in drinking water (HF). Overall weight gain and body fat levels were significantly higher in SF and HF than in S-free. Fat cells were significantly larger in SF compared with HF. Compared with SF and S-free, HF had higher glucose, but triglycerides, and LDLc levels were not different. BP was significantly higher in SF but not in HF compared to S-free. These observations indicate that honey may afford a protection against increase in BP and in fat cell size resulting from a hypercaloric diet. © 2011 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
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TL;DR: The aim of this review is to present and discuss the recent evidence, obtained from in vitro, in vivo and epidemiological studies, on the potential roles exerted by these foods in the prevention and progression of different types of cancer and CVDs.
Abstract: The traditional Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is a well-known dietary pattern associated with longevity and improvement of life quality as it reduces the risk of the most common chronic pathologies, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), that represent the principal cause of death worldwide. One of the most characteristic foods of MedDiet is olive oil, a very complex matrix, which constitutes the main source of fats and is used in the preparation of foods, both raw as an ingredient in recipes, and in cooking. Similarly, strawberries and raspberries are tasty and powerful foods which are commonly consumed in the Mediterranean area in fresh and processed forms and have attracted the scientific and consumer attention worldwide for their beneficial properties for human health. Besides olive oil and berries, honey has lately been introduced in the MedDiet thanks to its relevant nutritional, phytochemical and antioxidant profile. It is a sweet substance that has recently been classified as a functional food. The aim of this review is to present and discuss the recent evidence, obtained from in vitro, in vivo and epidemiological studies, on the potential roles exerted by these foods in the prevention and progression of different types of cancer and CVDs.
108 citations
TL;DR: Test the hypothesis that decreased SERCA2a activity is mediated by elevated oxidative stress produced in the MetS heart and myocytes from MetS rats treated with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine showed normal ROS levels and SERCA 2a-mediated Ca(2+) reuptake as well as accelerated cytosolic Ca( 2+) removal, and suggest that elevated oxidative Stress may induce oxidative modifications on SER CA2a leading to abnormal function of this protein in the metS heart.
Abstract: Ca+ mishandling due to impaired activity of cardiac sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA2a) has been associated with the development of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in insulin-...
70 citations
TL;DR: There is a strong potential for honey supplementation to be integrated into the management of MetS, both as preventive as well as adjunct therapeutic agents.
Abstract: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of diseases comprising of obesity, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. There are numerous pre-clinical as well as human studies reporting the protective effects of honey against MetS. Honey is a nutritional food low in glycemic index. Honey intake reduces blood sugar levels and prevents excessive weight gain. It also improves lipid metabolism by reducing total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which leads to decreased risk of atherogenesis. In addition, honey enhances insulin sensitivity that further stabilizes blood glucose levels and protects the pancreas from overstimulation brought on by insulin resistance. Furthermore, antioxidative properties of honey help in reducing oxidative stress, which is one of the central mechanisms in MetS. Lastly, honey protects the vasculature from endothelial dysfunction and remodelling. Therefore, there is a strong potential for honey supplementation to be integrated into the management of MetS, both as preventive as well as adjunct therapeutic agents.
47 citations
Cites background or methods from "Effects of honey against the accumu..."
...(2011) [91] Unknown honey species 20% added in diet 56 days Wistar rats Rats given honey in their hypercaloric diet showed no increase in blood pressure compared to rats that did not receive honey (p < 0....
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...As such, a study by Romero-Silva et al. (2011) demonstrated that rats receiving a hypercaloric diet with the addition of 20% honey caused no increase in blood pressure as compared to untreated rats (p < 0.05) [91]....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the efficacy of two local Malaysian honey types: Gelam and Acacia honey in reducing excess weight gain and other parameters related to obesity was investigated, and the quality of both honey types was determined through physicochemical analysis and contents of phenolic and flavonoid.
Abstract: Many studies revealed the potential of honey consumption in controlling obesity. However, no study has been conducted using Malaysian honey. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of two local Malaysian honey types: Gelam and Acacia honey in reducing excess weight gain and other parameters related to obesity. The quality of both honey types was determined through physicochemical analysis and contents of phenolic and flavonoid. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were induced to become obese using high fat diet (HFD) prior to introduction with/without honey or orlistat for four weeks. Significant reductions in excess weight gain and adiposity index were observed in rats fed with Gelam honey compared to HFD rats. Moreover, levels of plasma glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol, plasma leptin and resistin, liver enzymes, renal function test, and relative organ weight in Gelam and Acacia honey treated groups were reduced significantly when compared to rats fed with HFD only. Similar results were also displayed in rats treated with orlistat, but with hepatotoxicity effects. In conclusion, consumption of honey can be used to control obesity by regulating lipid metabolism and appears to be more effective than orlistat.
44 citations
Cites background from "Effects of honey against the accumu..."
...Meanwhile, Romero-Silva et al. (2011) revealed that rats fed with diet containing honey showed significantly reduced adipocyte size after two months of regimen when compared to rats fed sugar [8]....
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...containing honey showed significantly reduced adipocyte size after two months of regimen when compared to rats fed sugar [8]....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the consumers' determinants of honey consumption, trying to understand whether, and how much, therapeutic properties of honey affect the Italian consumers' choices.
Abstract: Nowadays, more and more consumers show a growing interest in healthy food products that may help to maintain or improve human health, such as honey. Honey has always represented a fundamental component of traditional medicine in many world cultures. However, only thanks to several studies carried out in the last years, its use is considered as an alternative and complementary medicine, namely apitherapy. In this way, honey is recognized increasingly by consumers not only as a natural alternative to refined sugar but as healthy food, as shown by determining an increase of its consumption worldwide. This study aims to explore the consumers’ determinants of honey consumption, trying to understand whether, and how much, therapeutic properties of honey affect the Italian consumers’ choices. The findings of this study, although exploratory, provide information on which quality characteristics influence honey consumption in Italy, revealing that, among quality attributes, the therapeutic properties of honey play an important role in affecting consumers’ behavior, followed by income, variety and taste. This could have some implications for producers and marketers as this information could contribute to defining effective marketing strategies for communicating to consumers the quality attributes of honey and its therapeutic benefits.
33 citations
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TL;DR: Recent work on the vascular actions of adiponectin complements the growing body of information on its insulin-sensitizing effects in glucose and lipid metabolism and is now a recognized component of a novel signaling network among adipocytes, insulin-sensitive tissues, and vascular function that has important consequences for cardiovascular risk.
Abstract: Cardiovascular disease accounts for an overwhelming proportion of the morbidity and mortality suffered by patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus, and recent work has elucidated several potential mechanisms by which increased adiposity enhances cardiovascular risk. Excess adipose tissue, especially in certain compartments, leads to reduced insulin sensitivity in metabolically responsive tissues, which is frequently associated with a set of cardiovascular risk factors, including hyperinsulinemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and glucose intolerance. Increasing attention has also been paid to the direct vascular effects of plasma proteins that originate from adipose tissue, especially adiponectin, which exhibits potent antiinflammatory and antiatherosclerotic effects. This brief review will summarize recent work on the vascular actions of adiponectin, which complements the growing body of information on its insulin-sensitizing effects in glucose and lipid metabolism. Adiponectin is now a recognized component of a novel signaling network among adipocytes, insulin-sensitive tissues, and vascular function that has important consequences for cardiovascular risk.
659 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that the effect of honey on wound healing may in part be related to the stimulation of inflammatory cytokines from monocytic cells, known to play an important role in healing and tissue repair.
423 citations
TL;DR: A disease entity, visceral fat syndrome, is proposed, which may increase susceptibility to atherosclerosis due to multiple risk factors induced by visceral fat accumulation.
Abstract: Based on the analysis of fat distribution by computed tomography (CT) scans, the classification scheme for obesity should include visceral fat obesity in which fat accumulation is predominant in the intra-abdominal cavity. Obese subjects with visceral fat accumulation more frequently demonstrate impairment of glucose and lipid metabolism than those with subcutaneous fat accumulation. We have shown that visceral fat obesity is present in almost 90% of obese patients with ischemic heart disease. Even in non-obese subjects, visceral fat accumulation is correlated with glucose intolerance, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. Forty percent of non-obese subjects with coronary artery disease (CAD) had increased visceral fat. In non-obese subjects, visceral fat area assessed by abdominal CT at the level of the umbilicus correlates with metabolic risk factors, whereas in obese subjects the visceral fat area to subcutaneous fat area ratio provides a more significant correlation. From clinical and basic investigations, aging, sex hormones, excess intake of sucrose and lack of physical exercise have been suggested to be determinants for visceral fat accumulation. Since intra-abdominal fat (mesenteric and omentum fat) has been shown to have high activities of both lipogenesis and lipolysis, its accumulation can induce high levels of free fatty acids, a product of lipolysis, in portal circulation which go into the liver. Excess free fatty acids may cause the enhancement of lipid synthesis and gluconeogenesis as well as insulin resistance, resulting in hyperlipidemia, glucose intolerance and hypertension and finally atherosclerosis. Thus we propose a disease entity, visceral fat syndrome, which may increase susceptibility to atherosclerosis due to multiple risk factors induced by visceral fat accumulation.
335 citations
TL;DR: Honey reduces blood lipids, homocysteine, and CRP in normal and hyperlipidemic subjects and in diabetic patients, honey compared with dextrose caused a significantly lower rise of PGL.
Abstract: This study included the following experiments: (1) effects of dextrose solution (250 mL of water containing 75 g of dextrose) or honey solution (250 mL of water containing 75 g of natural honey) on plasma glucose level (PGL), plasma insulin, and plasma C-peptide (eight subjects); (2) effects of dextrose, honey, or artificial honey (250 mL of water containing 35 g of dextrose and 40 g of fructose) on cholesterol and triglycerides (TG) (nine subjects); (3) effects of honey solution, administered for 15 days, on PGL, blood lipids, C-reactive protein (CRP), and homocysteine (eight subjects); (4) effects of honey or artificial honey on cholesterol and TG in six patients with hypercholesterolemia and five patients with hypertriglyceridemia; (5) effects of honey for 15 days on blood lipid and CRP in five patients with elevated cholesterol and CRP; (6) effects of 70 g of dextrose or 90 g of honey on PGL in seven patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus; and (7) effects of 30 g of sucrose or 30 g of honey on PGL, pl...
222 citations
TL;DR: The data suggest a potential nutritional benefit of substituting honey for fructose in the diet, and the mechanism underlying the antioxidant effect of honey is still unknown.
Abstract: Recent findings indicate that a high fructose diet has a prooxidant effect in rats compared with a starch diet Because honey is rich in fructose, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of substituting honey for refined carbohydrates on lipid metabolism and oxidative stress Rats were fed for 2 wk purified diets containing 65 g/100 g carbohydrates as wheat starch or a combination of fructose and glucose or a honey-based diet prepared by substituting honey for refined carbohydrates (n = 9/group) The same amount of fructose was provided by the honey and fructose diets The hypertriglyceridemic effect of fructose was not observed when fructose was provided by honey Compared with those fed starch, fructose-fed rats had a lower plasma alpha-tocopherol level, higher plasma nitrite and nitrate (NOx) levels and were less protected from lipid peroxidation as indicated by heart homogenate TBARS concentration Compared with those fed fructose, honey-fed rats had a higher plasma alpha-tocopherol level, a higher alpha-tocopherol/triacylglycerol ratio, lower plasma NOx concentrations and a lower susceptibility of heart to lipid peroxidation Further studies are required to identify the mechanism underlying the antioxidant effect of honey but the data suggest a potential nutritional benefit of substituting honey for fructose in the diet
152 citations