MEDICINAL EFFICACY AND ABERRANT PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOME HONEYS IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIAN MARKETS

Abstract

Honey is a natural sweet substance produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). It is derived from the nectars of flowering plants or from the secretions of living part of plants which is further processed and transformed by the honey bees. In this study, the health impacts of different honey samples were investigated. A total of 22 honey samples were collected from different sources. Four of the samples were obtained directly from beekeeper, six honey samples of different brands of high demand from consumers were purchased from the supermarkets and the remaining twelve samples were purchased from the local market. 6 samples were randomly selected from honey sourced from the local markets (A); 3 samples were also selected from those obtained from the supermarkets (B); while 2 samples were selected among those sourced from the beekeepers and labelled (C). The results of the physico-chemical properties showed the following range of values for moisture content (15.61 – 19.41%), pH (3.76 – 4.01), ash content (0.12 – 0.30%), electrical conductivity (0.09 – 0.28mS/cm), turbidity (14.62 – 57.78NTU) and hydroxymethylfurfural content (35.59 – 45.55mg/kg). Honey from the local markets revealed high moisture content when compared with the other honey types. The overall results were found to conform with the international standards except the Hydroxymethyl furfural content. Subsequent effect of the honey on blood glucose level and wound healing was examined using male albino mice which were divided into five groups and fed with the honey samples. The study revealed that category C showed significant decrease on blood glucose level after 5 days of administration from 111.60 ± 12.24mg/dl to 63.20 ± 3.96mg/dl. When comparing the effect of category A with those of the control groups, there was no significant difference. The effect on wound healing from this study showed that mice treated with category C had the wound size reduced after 14days of treatment. The study concludes that adulteration in honey reduces the therapeutic efficacy of honey and can significantly raise blood glucose level beyond normal.