Direct and Indirect Effect of Honey as a Functional Food Against Metabolic Syndrome and Its Skeletal Complications

Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods: A Comprehensive Review of Their Role in Bone Health

Bone health is the result of a tightly regulated balance between bone modeling and bone remodeling, and alterations of these processes have been observed in several diseases both in adult and pediatric populations. The imbalance in bone remodeling can ultimately lead to osteoporosis, which is most often associated with aging, but contributing factors can already act during the developmental age, when over a third of bone mass is accumulated. The maintenance of an adequate bone mass is influenced by genetic and environmental factors, such as physical activity and diet, and particularly by an adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D. In addition, it has been claimed that the integration of specific nutraceuticals such as resveratrol, anthocyanins, isoflavones, lycopene, curcumin, lutein, and β-carotene and the intake of bioactive compounds from the diet such as honey, tea, dried plums, blueberry, and olive oil can be efficient strategies for bone loss prevention. Nutraceuticals and functional foods are largely used to provide medical or health benefits, but there is an urge to determine which products have adequate clinical evidence and a strong safety profile. The aim of this review is to explore the scientific and clinical evidence of the positive role of nutraceuticals and functional food in bone health, focusing both on molecular mechanisms and on real-world studies.

A comprehensive review on environmental pollutants and osteoporosis: Insights into molecular pathways

A significant problem that has an impact on community wellbeing is environmental pollution. Environmental pollution due to air, water, or soil pollutants might pose a severe risk to global health, necessitating intense scientific effort. Osteoporosis is a common chronic condition with substantial clinical implications on mortality, morbidity, and quality of life. It is closely linked to bone fractures. Worldwide, osteoporosis affects around 200 million people, and every year, there are almost 9 million fractures. There is evidence that certain environmental factors may increase the risk of osteoporosis in addition to traditional risk factors. It is crucial to understand the molecular mechanisms at play because there is a connection between osteoporosis and exposure to environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, air pollutants, endocrine disruptors, metal ions and trace elements. Hence, in this scoping review, we explore potential explanations for the link between pollutants and bone deterioration through deep insights into molecular pathways. Understanding and recognizing these pollutants as modifiable risk factors for osteoporosis would possibly help to enhance environmental policy thereby aiding in the improvement of bone health and improving patient quality of life.

Composition, functional properties and safety of honey: a review

Honey has been used not only as a food source but also for medicinal purposes. Recent studies have indicated that honey exhibits antioxidant, hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic and anti-obesity properties, as well as anticancer, anti-atherosclerotic, hypotensive, neuroprotective and immunomodulatory activities. These health benefits of honey could be attributed to its wide range of nutritional components, including polysaccharides and polyphenols, which have been proven to possess various beneficial properties. It is notable that the composition of honey can also be affected by nectar, season, geography and storage condition. Moreover, the safety of honey requires caution to avoid any potential safety incidents. Therefore, this review aims to provide recent research regarding the chemical composition, biological activities and safety of honey, which might be attributed to comprehensive utilization of honey. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Honey: A Promising Therapeutic Supplement for the Prevention and Management of Osteoporosis and Breast Cancer

Osteoporosis and breast cancer are serious diseases that have become a significant socioeconomic burden. There are biochemical associations between the two disorders in terms of the amended function of estrogen, receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa beta ligand, oxidative stress, inflammation, and lipid accumulation. Honey as a functional food with high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties can contribute to the prevention of various diseases. Its health benefits are mainly related to the content of polyphenols. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge from in vitro, animal, and human studies on the use of honey as a potential therapeutic agent for osteoporosis and breast cancer. Preclinical studies have revealed a beneficial impact of honey on both bone health (microstructure, strength, oxidative stress) and breast tissue health (breast cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis, tumor growth rate, and volume). The limited number of clinical trials, especially in osteoporosis, indicates the need for further research to evaluate the potential benefits of honey in the treatment. Clinical studies related to breast cancer have revealed that honey is effective in increasing blood cell counts, interleukin-3 levels, and quality of life. In summary, honey may serve as a prospective therapeutic supplement for bone and breast tissue health.

Honey polyphenols: regulators of human microbiota and health

A comprehensive review of research over the last decade was conducted to carry out this work. The main objective of this work is to present relevant evidence of the effect of honey intake on the human intestinal microbiota and its relationship with the improvement of various chronic diseases, such as cirrhosis, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and obesity, among others. Therefore, this work focuses on the health-improving honey dietary supplementation implications associated with specific changes in the human microbiota and their biochemical mechanisms to enhance the proliferation of beneficial microorganisms and the inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms. Consumption of honey polyphenols significantly improves people's health conditions, especially in patients with chronic disease. Hence, honey intake unequivocally constitutes an alternative way to enhance health and could be used to prevent some relevant chronic diseases.

The Antimicrobial Effects of Saudi Sumra Honey against Drug Resistant Pathogens: Phytochemical Analysis, Antibiofilm, Anti-Quorum Sensing, and Antioxidant Activities

Honey exhibited potential antimicrobial activity against multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria that continues to be a serious health problem. We reported the in-vitro activity of Saudi Sumra honey against clinical pathogenic bacteria and fungi, antibiofilm, anti-quorum-sensing (QS) and antioxidant activities in relation to its phytochemical composition assessed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Broth dilution method and scavenging activities against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and β-carotene bleaching assays were performed. The GC-MS analysis of Sumra honey showed that 2,4-dihydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furan-3-one 1-methylcyclopropanemethanol were the major identified phytoconstituents. Sumra honey showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at 300 mg/mL, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (250 mg/mL), Escherichia coli (350 mg/mL) and Acinetobacter baumannii (250 mg/mL); clinical fungal isolates—Candida auris (600 mg/mL) and Cryptococcus neoformans (>1000 mg/mL); wild type fungal isolates—Candida krusei (>1000 mg/mL) and Candida albicans (700 mg/mL). In addition, Sumra honey demonstrated promising inhibition targeting biofilm formation by 59% for Bacillus subtilis, 48% for S. aureus, 38% for E. coli, and 33.63% for P. aeruginosa. The violacein production in Chromobacterium violaceum was reduced to 68%, whereas pyocyanin production in P. aeruginosa was reduced to 54.86% at ½ MIC. Furthermore, Sumra honey exhibited strong antioxidant activities (DPPH − IC50 = 7.7 mg/mL; ABTS − IC50 = 5.4 mg/mL; β-carotene − IC50 = >20 mg/mL). Overall, obtained data highlighted the promising potential therapeutic use of Sumra honey treating infections caused by MDR bacteria and fungi. Moreover, Sumra honey can be a good candidate as an inhibitor agent for bacterial cellular communication in strains of P. aeruginosa and C. violaceum.

Alternative to Sugar, Honey Does Not Provoke Insulin Resistance in Rats Based on Lipid Profiles, Inflammation, and IRS/PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathways Modulation

Insulin resistance (IR) is the central link to metabolic syndrome (MS), and IR prevention has become the key to overcoming this worldwide public health problem. A diet rich in simple sugars is an important pathogenic factor in IR development. To investigate the effect of honey on IR compared to the sugar-water diet, we analyzed phenolics and oligosaccharides in jujube honey and rape honey based on LC-MS and silane derivatization/GC-MS. The effects of different diets on glucose and lipid profile, histopathology and IR-related mechanism pathways were analyzed and compared by equal sugar levels intervention of fructose, fructose + glucose and two kinds of unifloral honey (high-/low-dose) in rats. The results suggested that sugar-equivalent honey, which differs from sugar solution, especially 17.1 g/kg BW jujube honey rich in phenolics (1.971 mg/100 g of isoquercitrin) and oligosaccharides (2.18 g/100 g of turanose), suppressed IR via maintaining glucose (OGTT and ITT) and lipid (TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, and NEFA) homeostasis, improving histological structural abnormalities of the liver, adipose and skeletal muscle, reducing oxidative stress (GSH-Px and MDA) and inflammation (IL-6 and TNF-α), modulating the NF-κB (NF-κB gene expression was down-regulated to 0.94) and IRS/PI3K/AKT signaling pathways (e.g., AKT and GLUT2 expression in liver increased by 4.56 and 13.37 times, respectively) as well as reshaping the gut microbiota. These revealed a potential nutritional contribution of substituting honey for simple sugar in the diet, providing a theoretical basis for controlling IR development via dietary modification and supplementation.

Beneficial effects of Gynostemma pentaphyllum honey paste on obesity via counteracting oxidative stress and inflammation: An exploration of functional food developed from two independent foods rich in saponins and phenolics

The development of functional foods that possess a combination of biological functions and good sensory properties is an emerging topic in the field of food and function. Gynostemma pentaphyllum (G. pentaphyllum) is widely considered to exert anti-obesity effect owing to its abundant saponins and other bioactive components, but bitter and unacceptable taste limit its utilization. While honey, a natural sweetener, not only has the pleasure sense but is also usually used as the carrier of functional food due to its phenolic oligosaccharide, etc. In the present study, we proposed the preparation method of a G. pentaphyllum honey paste (GH) and its beneficial effects on obese mice. The results showed that GH contented 0.055 mg/g Gypenoside XLIX, 0.01 mg/g Gypenoside A, and 11 kinds of phenolics. It could down-regulate 23.3% of liver TC level, increase serum ALT activity, improve liver tissue damage and epididymal adipocyte hypertrophy than obese mice. Besides, GH regulated enzyme activities such as SOD and GSH to enhance oxidative stress defense and exerted anti-inflammatory activity via IL-6 (52.4%), TNF-α (38.7%), IFN-γ (32%) and NF-κB (28%) genes down-regulation, which also reshaped the gut microbiota structure, exerting anti-obesity effects. More importantly, GH promoted obese mice appetite with orexin-A compared to G. pentaphyllum alone. This study provided a new perspective on the development of G. pentaphyllum functional foods with both good organoleptic performance and obesity therapy.

Component changes of mulberry leaf tea processed with honey and its application to in vitro and in vivo models of diabetes

Honey is a traditional food additive that can be used to preserve food, increase the flavour of food, and enhance the effect of some functional foods. Mulberry leaf is a popular tea, and it is also an anti-diabetic medicinal material. In the traditional processing of mulberry leaf tea, honey is a commonly used additive. This study used ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) to measure the changes in the contents of 11 components of mulberry leaves before and after processing using honey as an additive. We analysed the absorption and elimination characteristics of mulberry leaves before and after processing in diabetes in vivo models, and then compared the effect of mulberry leaves before and after processing in resisting hyperglycaemia and hyperlipidaemia damage in in vitro models. The results showed that honey, as an additive, not only improves the dissolution of mulberry leaves, but in diabetes models also increases the utilisation of some components. In an in vitro model, honey mulberry leaves could significantly reduce the apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells. This demonstrated that the traditional processing method using honey as an additive could promote the anti-diabetic effect of mulberry tea. So far, this is the first research report on the quality and role of honey as an additive in mulberry leaf processing.Abbreviations: ML: mulberry leaves; HML: honey mulberry leaves; QC: quality control; HQC: high quality control sample; LLOQ: lower limit of quantification; LQC: low-quality control sample; MQC: medium-quality control sample; MRM: multiple reaction monitoring; STZ: streptozotocin.

Baicalein ameliorates osteoporosis via AKT/FOXO1 signaling

In this study, we used bioinformatics and an in vitro cellular model of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis to investigate mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of baicalein (BN) against osteoporosis. STITCH database analysis revealed 30 BN-targeted genes, including AKT1, CCND1, MTOR, and PTEN. Functional enrichment analysis demonstrated that BN-targeted genes were enriched in 49 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. MIRWALK2.0 database analysis identified 110 enriched KEGG pathways related to osteoporosis. A Venn diagram demonstrated that 26 KEGG pathways were common between osteoporosis and BN-targeted genes. The top 5 common KEGG pathways were prostate cancer, bladder cancer, glioma, pathways in cancer, and melanoma. BN-targeted genes in the top 5 shared KEGG pathways were involved in PI3K-AKT, MAPK, p53, ErbB, and mTOR signaling pathways. In addition, glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in MC3T3-E1 cells was partially reversed by BN through inhibition of AKT, which, by upregulating FOXO1, enhanced expression of bone turnover markers (ALP, OCN, Runx2, and Col 1) and extracellular matrix mineralization. These findings demonstrate that BN suppresses osteoporosis via an AKT/FOXO1 signaling pathway.

Particulate Air Pollution and Osteoporosis: A Systematic Review

Air pollution is associated with inflammation and oxidative stress, which predispose to several chronic diseases in human. Emerging evidence suggests that the severity and progression of osteoporosis are directly associated with inflammation induced by air pollutants like particulate matter (PM). This systematic review examined the relationship between PM and bone health or fractures. A comprehensive literature search was conducted from January until February 2021 using the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library databases. Human cross-sectional, cohort and case-control studies were considered. Of the 1500 papers identified, 14 articles were included based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The air pollution index investigated by most studies were PM2.5 and PM10. Current studies demonstrated inconsistent associations between PM and osteoporosis risk or fractures, which may partly due to the heterogeneity in subjects' characteristics, study design and analysis. In conclusion, there is an inconclusive relationship between osteoporosis risk and fracture and PM exposures which require further validation.

The Rediscovery of Honey for Skin Repair: Recent Advances in Mechanisms for Honey-Mediated Wound Healing and Scaffolded Application Techniques

Honey is a honey-bee product obtained mainly by the enzymatic processing of nectar from a variety of plants, which leads to the wide range of colours and flavours available on the market. These organoleptic and nutritional features are influenced by the chemical composition, which in turn depends on the botanical origin. Bioactive compounds account for honey beneficial activity in medical applications, which explains the extensive use of honey in ethno-pharmacology since antiquity, from cough remedies to dermatological treatments. Wound healing is one of the main therapeutic uses of honey, and various design options in pharmaceutical technology such as smart delivery systems and advanced dressings are currently being developed to potentiate honey’s valuable properties for better performance and improved final outcome. In this review, we will focus on the latest research that discloses crucial factors in determining what properties are most beneficial when considering honey as a medicinal product. We will present the most recent updates on the possible mechanisms responsible for the exceptional effects of this ageless therapeutical remedy on skin repair. Furthermore, the state-of-the-art in application techniques (incorporation into scaffolds as an alternative to direct administration) used to enhance honey-mediated wound-healing properties are explored.

The Physicochemical Characteristics of Gelam Honey and Its Outcome on the Female Reproductive Tissue of Sprague-Dawley Rats: A Preliminary Study

Gelam honey (GH) is a prized natural product synthesized from the nectar of flowers from Gelam trees (Melaleuca sp.). Gelam is an evergreen tree species that grows in tropical regions such as Malaysia. GH is a multifloral honey with proven antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the beneficial effect of GH on female reproductive tissue has yet to be substantiated. Herein, we investigated the effects of GH administration on the uterine and vaginal epithelial thickness of sexually mature Sprague-Dawley rats. Epithelia thickness could be an indicator of an atrophy manifesting as a symptom of a cardio syndrome. Rats were given oral doses of GH in four groups for 14 days; the lowest dose was 0.2 g GH/kg body weight (bw) rat/day and the highest dose was 8 g GH/kg bw rat/day. The physicochemical characteristics of GH were assessed through hydroxymethylfurfural and moisture content determination and sugar identification. GH attenuated the atrophy of the uterine and vaginal epithelia and increased the thickness of the endometrial stroma and endometrial surface endothelial layer. However, the dissonance observed in the effect of GH administration on the vaginal epithelium requires further investigation. Nevertheless, GH may have a strong potential in attenuating uterine and vaginal atrophies.