Metabolic syndrome susceptibility of suckling male and female rats given oral administration of natural honey compared with cane syrup

Abstract

The acute effects of natural honey (NH) and cane syrup (golden syrup, GS) on metabolism in 89 (10-day old) suckling Sprague Dawley rats were investigated. Low dose group fed 10mls/kg of either NH or GS; high dose group gavaged with 20mls/kg of either solution; while the fifth group, control received 10mls/kg distilled water. All treatments were administered via stomach tube twice daily for 10 consecutive days. The pups were euthanized on day 21 for the measurements of metabolic substrates and long bones. All the dietary treatments induced significant (p<0.001, ANOVA) body weight gain. There was no difference (p≥0.05) amongst all the groups in all the parameters measured (NFG; NFT; hepatic lipids and glycogen; as well as length and weight of the femur and the tibia), except the values of plasma free fatty acids (p<0.0001) and hepatic lipid content (p<0.001) that were significantly higher in GS-fed than the honey fed pups. The study showed that despite the rapid growth phase of the neonatal pups shown as BW gain, the adverse effects associated with the consumption of refined sugars, did not manifest prominently within the short term, but could develop with chronic exposure as previously reported.