(P30-015-24) Dietary Honey Ingestion on Inflammation and Metabolic Biomarkers in Obesity: A Pilot Study

Objectives: Honey has many bioactive components which may positively impact a variety of chronic metabolic diseases. Thus, we are currently conducting a pilot study to test the feasibility of daily ingestion of monofloral unprocessed manuka honey (1 tbsp/day [21 g honey]) for 4 weeks and assess the impact on inflammation and metabolic biomarkers among overweight and obese participants.

Methods: Currently, we are conducting a 4-week pilot honey trial among overweight and obese subjects (BMI≥27 kg/m², 40-75 years) randomized to the honey treatment group (ingestion of 1 tbsp of honey [21 g]/day) or control group (ingestion of a sugar mixture with equivalent amounts of sugar contents in 1 tbsp of honey/day). Plasma samples for inflammatory and metabolic biomarker analyses are collected at baseline and conclusion of the study (4 weeks after randomization). Primary analyses are based on assigned treatment at the time of randomization regardless of adherence status. Repeated measures linear mixed-effects model will be used to evaluate the absolute treatment effects by assessing the differences in the outcome variables from baseline to 4 weeks of treatment between the honey treatment group and the control group.

Results: The pilot study is ongoing, with 19 of 50 participants enrolled. A total of 14 participants have completed the study (8 in the honey treatment group, 6 in the control group), and three participants dropped out of study (high baseline blood glucose levels, n=2; personal issue, n-1) (16%). There was no lost to follow up. Participants who are currently enrolled in or have completed the study are predominantly white (89.4%) and identified as female (73.7%) with mean age of 57.4±10.9 years. Preliminary inflammatory and metabolic marker results will be available for presentation at the time of the conference.

Conclusions: The current ongoing pilot study suggests it is feasible to conduct a honey supplementation trial of daily ingestion of a reasonable dosage of honey (1 tbsp/day). We expect that daily ingestion of 1 tbsp of honey for four weeks may have positive effects on plasma inflammation and metabolic biomarkers relative to control.

Funding Sources: The study is supported by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Research Council Interdisciplinary grant and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Layman grant.