Hepatoprotective effect of tualang honey supplementation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Summary: Hepatic dysfunction such as elevations of transaminases and alkaline phosphatase is associated with diabetes. We investigated the hepatoprotective effect of Malaysian tualang honey in streptozotocin (STZ; 60 mg/kg; ip)-induced diabetic rats by measuring serum AST, ALT and ALP activities. Non-diabetic and diabetic rats were administered distilled water or tualang honey orally for four weeks. Serum AST, ALP and ALT activities were significantly (p < 0.01) elevated in diabetic control rats. Tualang honey significantly (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05) reduced AST, ALT and ALP activities in diabetic rats. These results suggest that tualang honey may produce hepatoprotective effect in diabetic rats. Industrial relevance: Natural products are generally recognized for their enriched chemical and bioactive constituents which are the main contributors of their biological activities or therapeutic effects. This study provides evidence for hepatoprotective effect of tualang honey in diabetic rats. Considering the increasing prevalence of liver related disorders, most of which are secondary effects of exogenously ingested/administered substances, these results suggest that tualang honey may be effective in the treatment of hepatic damage or perhaps co-administered with other therapeutic agents to minimize their side effects.