Postmenopausal women who received tualang honey showed improvement in their immediate memory but not in immediate memory after the interference and delayed recall. This is comparable with the improvement seen in women receiving estrogen plus progestin therapy.

This study aimed to investigate the ability of Tualang honey (TH), a phytoestrogen, to reduce blood oxidative stress levels/activities in postmenopausal women and compared the effects with the standard estrogen progestin therapy (EPT). A total of 78 healthy postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to one of two groups; EPT group received Femoston conti 1/5 (1 mg 17 -estradiol and 5 mg dydrogesterone), and TH group, received 20 g of TH supplement daily for 16 weeks. The reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione ratio (GSH : GSSG), plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) levels/activities were measured at pre-and postinterventions using commercially available kits. The plasma GPx and CAT activities were notably increased, and plasma 4-HNE level was significantly decreased in postmenopausal women who received EPT and TH supplementation. TH supplementation for 16 weeks was able to reduce blood oxidative stress levels/activities of postmenopausal women comparable to those who received EPT. Thus, TH has a potential to be used as antioxidant therapy to combat oxidative stress-induced neurodegenerative diseases. This trial is registered with NCT01300676.

The composition and physicochemical properties of honey are variable depending on its floral source and often named according to the geographical location. The potential medicinal benefits of Tualang honey, a multifloral jungle honey found in Malaysia, have recently been attracting attention because of its reported beneficial effects in various diseases. This paper reviews the effects of honey, particularly Tualang honey, on learning and memory. Information regarding the effects of Tualang honey on learning and memory in human as well as animal models is gleaned to hypothesize its underlying mechanisms. These studies show that Tualang honey improves morphology of memory-related brain areas, reduces brain oxidative stress, increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and acetylcholine (ACh) concentrations, and reduces acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the brain homogenates. Its anti-inflammatory roles in reducing inflammatory trigger and microglial activation have yet to be investigated. It is hypothesized that the improvement in learning and memory following Tualang honey supplementation is due to the significant improvement in brain morphology and enhancement of brain cholinergic system secondary to reduction in brain oxidative damage and/or upregulation of BDNF concentration. Further studies are imperative to elucidate the molecular mechanism of actions.

No abstract

Impairment of memory is one of the most frequently reported symptoms during sudden hypoxia exposure in human. Cortical atrophy has been linked to the impaired memory function and is suggested to occur with chronic high-altitude exposure. However, the precise molecular mechanism(s) of hypoxia-induced memory impairment remains an enigma. In this work, we review hypoxia-induced learning and memory deficit in human and rat studies. Based on data from rat studies using different protocols of continuous hypoxia, we try to elicit potential mechanisms of hypobaric hypoxia–induced memory deficit.