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Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic condition that develops when the body fails to produce enough insulin or when insulin fails to work properly, is a global health problem. This study was conducted to evaluate the metabolic effect of eight-week administration of Niger Delta honey on the blood glucose, haematological parameters, body weight and glycosylated haemoglobin in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Six groups of 8 rats each were used. Group I served as control; Group II was given 10ml/kg/day of the honey solution; Group III served as diabetic control; Group IV diabetic rats received 10ml/kg/day of the honey solution. Group V diabetic rats were given a single daily dose of 0.6 mg/kg glibenclamide. Group VI were treated with both glibenclamide and honey concurrently. The present study showed that honey significantly (p<0.05) improved blood cells and indices, body weight but caused marked decrease in blood glucose levels as well as glycosylated haemoglobin in alloxan diabetic rats. Furthermore, honey caused a further reduction in blood glucose levels when used in combination with glibenclamide. In conclusion, the result of the present study suggests that honey might prevent alloxan-induced anaemia, immune-disturbances, thrombocytopenia, weight Original Research Article

Aim/ Background: One of the classical features of diabetes mellitus is weight loss which may become excessive in some cases. This basically results from muscle wasting due to increased catabolism of proteins. The commonly used antidiabetic drug; glibenclamide may not effectively prevent the excessive weight loss experienced by some diabetics. This is the reason why some complain of even extreme weight loss while on medication. Thus addition of a natural product with the potential to prevent excessive weight loss and make diabetics appear healthy while on treatment may be necessary. The aim of the present study is to determine the effect of honey on the body weight of glibenclamide treated alloxan induced diabetic rats. Methods: This study was carried out between September and October, 2015. A total of 20 male wistar rats weighing 200-250g were grouped into four with 5 rats in each group. Diabetes mellitus was induced in all the rats by intraperitoneally injecting 2% alloxan solution as 200mg/kg body weight. Each rat was weighed before and after the experiment and recorded accordingly. The animals received respectively oral administration of the following: Group one; 5.0ml/kg/day of distilled water, Group two; 5.0ml/kg/day of 50% honey, Group three; 5.0ml/kg/day of 50% honey together with 0.6mg/kg/day of glibenclamide, Group 4; glibenclamide alone (0.6mg/kg/day). The animals were treated for 4weeks. Results: There was significant increase in the mean final weight of the honey treated group compared to their initial weight. Conversely, significant mean weight reduction was noted for rats treated with glibenclamide alone. However, when honey was added to glibenclamide treatment, the weight loss was minimized. Conclusion: The present study showed that addition of honey to glibenclamide in the treatment of alloxan diabetic rats significantly improved the body weight compared to when the drug was administered alone. The study suggests that glibenclamide has a limited capability to stimulate the already damaged beta cells to stimulate insulin. However, when given together with honey, its anti-oxidant components may have prevented excessive protein catabolism. There could also be possible honey-induced pancreatic beta cell regeneration.

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