Inhibitory Effects of Tualang Honey on Experimental Breast Cancer in Rats: A Preliminary Study

• Published in: Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 2249 - 2254
• Main Authors: Kadir, Erazuliana Abd, Sulaiman, Siti Amrah, Yahya, Nurul Khaiza, Othman, Nor Hayati
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Honey; rat model; inhibitory effects; induced breast cancer
• ISSN: 1513-7368; 2476-762X

The study was conducted to determine the effect of Malaysian jungle Tualang Honey (TH) on development of breast cancer induced by the carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenz(${\alpha}$)anthracene (DMBA) in rats. Forty nulliparous female Sprague-Dawley rats were given 80 mg/kg DMBA then randomly divided into four groups: Group 1 served as a Control while Groups 2, 3 and 4 received 0.2, 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg bodyweight/day of TH, respectively, for 150 days. Results showed that breast cancers in the TH-treated groups had slower size increment and smaller mean tumor size (${\leq}2cm^3$) compared to Controls (${\leq}8cm^3$). The number of cancers developing in TH-treated groups was also significantly fewer (P<0.05). Histological grading showed majority of TH-treated group cancers to be of grade 1 and 2 compared to grade 3 in controls. There was an increasing trend of apoptotic index (AI) seen in TH-treated groups with increasing dosage of Tualang Honey, however, the mean AI values of all TH-treated groups were not significantly different from the Control value (p>0.05). In conclusion, Tualang Honey exerted positive modulation effects on DMBA-induced breast cancers in rats in this preliminary study.