A Scoping Review of the Evidence for the Medicinal Use of Natural Honey in Animals.
Abstract: Honey has a history of medicinal use that predates written records. In recent decades, there has been renewed interest in the use of honey in human medicine, particularly for the treatment of burns and other wounds. Several recent systematic reviews in the human literature have demonstrated the efficacy of honey in the treatment of a number of conditions, including burns, wounds and oral mucositis. The goal of this scoping review was to describe the nature and extent of the current body of evidence addressing the medicinal use of natural honey and/or its derivatives in animals. Although the focus of this review was the veterinary literature, all animal species except insects and humans were eligible, including animals used for biomedical research. Electronic databases searched were MEDLINE, CAB Abstracts, AGRICOLA, Web of Science Core Collection, and Web of Science SciELO Citation Index. A total of 397 articles reporting 436 primary research studies were included in this review. The majority of the articles were biomedical research articles (n = 350); fewer veterinary research articles were identified (n = 47). Apart from one systematic review, all biomedical studies were challenge trials. Most veterinary studies were case reports/series (n = 23), followed by challenge trials (n = 18) and controlled trials (n = 8). The animal species examined within veterinary articles consisted primarily of dogs, horses, cats and cattle, whereas the majority of biomedical research articles examined rats and mice. Wound healing was the most common indication examined; other indications examined included the prevention or treatment of gastric ulcers, bacterial and parasitic infections, toxic exposures, metabolic conditions (e.g., diabetes) and neoplasia. The majority of interventions consisted of non-medical grade honey (n = 412/436), followed by medical-grade honey (n = 29/436) and derivatives of natural honey (n = 9/436). With much of the current veterinary literature consisting of case reports and case series, high-quality primary veterinary research in the form of controlled trials or challenge trials is needed to advance this field, as well as to provide sound data for evidence-based assessments of the efficacy of honey in clinical veterinary practise.
Copyright © 2021 Vogt, Vriezen, Nwosu and Sargeant.
Publication Date: 2021-01-18 PubMed ID: 33537356PubMed Central: PMC7847899DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.618301Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Scoping Review
Summary
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The research article details a comprehensive review of existing studies exploring the use of honey for medicinal purposes in animals. The scoping review found evidence supporting the application of honey in treating conditions like burns, wounds, and other health ailments in various animal species, including pets and biomedical research animals.
Research Methodology
- The researchers carried out an extensive search of numerous electronic databases, such as MEDLINE, CAB Abstracts, AGRICOLA, Web of Science Core Collection, and Web of Science SciELO Citation Index to find relevant studies.
- They included a total of 397 articles that reported on 436 primary research studies, focusing on all animal species apart from insects and humans.
- The majority of these studies (350) were biomedical research articles, while a fewer number (47) were veterinary research articles.
Research Findings
- The majority of the reviewed studies were challenge trials, apart from a single systematic review. In the case of veterinary studies specifically, most were case reports or series.
- Animal species examined in the veterinary articles mostly included dogs, horses, cats, and cattle, whereas biomedical research majorly studied rats and mice.
- Wound healing was found to be the most commonly examined indication for the medicinal use of honey. Other conditions under study included gastric ulcers, bacterial and parasitic infections, toxic exposures, metabolic conditions such as diabetes, and neoplasia (abnormal growth of cells).
- Most of the interventions made use of non-medical grade honey, while fewer studies employed medical-grade honey or derivatives of natural honey.
Conclusions and Recommendations
- The researchers concluded that despite promising findings, the current veterinary literature is dominated by case reports and case series, with a lack of high-quality, primary veterinary research in the form of controlled trials or challenge trials.
- They recommended conducting more rigorous scientific trials to provide concrete data for evidence-based assessments of the efficacy of honey in clinical veterinary practice.
Cite This Article
APA
Vogt NA, Vriezen E, Nwosu A, Sargeant JM.
(2021).
A Scoping Review of the Evidence for the Medicinal Use of Natural Honey in Animals.
Front Vet Sci, 7, 618301.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.618301 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
- Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
- Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
- Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Bava R, Puteo C, Lombardi R, Garcea G, Lupia C, Spano A, Liguori G, Palma E, Britti D, Castagna F. Antimicrobial Properties of Hive Products and Their Potential Applications in Human and Veterinary Medicine. Antibiotics (Basel) 2025 Feb 10;14(2).
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- Alshiekheid MA. Evaluation of the Antibacterial Activities of Mangrove Honeybee Propolis Extract and the Identification of Transpeptidase and Transglycosylase as Targets for New Antibiotics Using Molecular Docking. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023 Jul 17;12(7).
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