Potential Therapeutic Benefits of Honey in Neurological Disorders: The Role of Polyphenols

Abstract

Honey is the principal premier product of beekeeping familiar to Homo for centuries. In every geological era and culture, evidence can be traced to the potential usefulness of honey in several ailments. With the advent of recent scientific approaches, honey has been proclaimed as a potent complementary and alternative medicine for the management and treatment of several maladies including various neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and multiple sclerosis, etc. In the literature archive, oxidative stress and the deprivation of antioxidants are believed to be the paramount cause of many of these neuropathies. Since different types of honey are abundant with certain antioxidants, primarily in the form of diverse polyphenols, honey is undoubtedly a strong pharmaceutic candidate against multiple neurological diseases. In this review, we have indexed and comprehended the involved mechanisms of various constituent polyphenols including different phenolic acids, flavonoids, and other phytochemicals that manifest multiple antioxidant effects in various neurological disorders. All these mechanistic interpretations of the nutritious components of honey explain and justify the potential recommendation of sweet nectar in ameliorating the burden of neurological disorders that have significantly increased across the world in the last few decades.

Combined Application of Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Principal Component Analysis in Characterisation of Selected Herbhoneys

“…Significant differences in tryptophan fluorescence intensities may also be related to the content of flavonoids in these products. Among them, such compounds as quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol, luteolin, rutin, naringenin, naringin, chrysin, rhamnetin, isorhamnetin, apigenin, pinocembrin, pinobanksin, galangin, tricetin, catechin, and hesperidin are the primary compounds found in various varieties of honey [ 31 ]. It is known that some of these compounds can quench Trp fluorescence by binding to proteins, especially enzymatic ones, acting as their inhibitors [ 32 ].…”

Pancreatic regenerative potential of manuka honey evidenced through pancreatic histology and levels of transcription factors in diabetic rat model

“…Besides other health benefits, honey possesses a strong ability to stimulate and enhance the regeneration process in many vital organs. It has been reported to exhibit a potential role in skin regeneration [ 28 ], liver regeneration [ 29 ], bone marrow regeneration [ 30 ], neural regeneration, epithelial regeneration [ 31 , 32 ], testicular regeneration [ 33 ], ovarian regeneration [ 34 ], and other tissues regeneration [ 18 , 35 ]. On this note, the present study was designed to explore the pancreatic regenerative potential of Manuka honey, the main element of apitherapy.…”

Quality Assessment of Bee Pollen‐Honey Mixtures Using Thin‐Layer Chromatography in Combination with Chemometrics

“…Nowadays people's awareness of the importance of consuming natural products is growing. There are studies showing that the consumption of bee products contributes to the prevention of many diseases, such as infectious, cancer, cardiovascular, degenerative pathologies (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, arthritis, …) [12–14] . Phenolic compounds, present in bee pollen and honey, as biologically active components, greatly contribute to these effects, considering that they are potent, natural antioxidants [13–14] .…”

“…There are studies showing that the consumption of bee products contributes to the prevention of many diseases, such as infectious, cancer, cardiovascular, degenerative pathologies (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, arthritis, …) [12–14] . Phenolic compounds, present in bee pollen and honey, as biologically active components, greatly contribute to these effects, considering that they are potent, natural antioxidants [13–14] . Therefore, honey and bee pollen can be potentially applied as active pharmaceutical ingredients, so‐called ‘nutraceuticals’ [15] …”

“…[12 -14] Phenolic compounds, present in bee pollen and honey, as biologically active components, greatly contribute to these effects, considering that they are potent, natural antioxidants. [13][14] Therefore, honey and bee pollen can be potentially applied as active pharmaceutical ingredients, so-called 'nutraceuticals'. [15] In recent years there has been a growing trend in placement of different bee products mixtures, and their presence on the market.…”