The role of honey in the prevention and cure ofnutritional anemia in rats

Abstract

Summary Laboratory rats have been fed a diet of raw whole milk supplementedwith 20 per cent of honey. Rats receiving milk to which 16 per cent sucrose was added served as controls. Rats which received a milk-dark honey mixture ad libitum showedan increase in the hemoglobin content of their blood, while the hemoglobin content of rats fed light honey or sucrose supplement in their milk gradually decreased, The gain in weight as well as the food consumption in the first group was also greater. In paired feeding experiments, it was demonstrated that rats receiving a dark honey supplement were able to maintain their hemoglobin at almost the initial level, while the hemoglobin content of rats fed a light honey supplement declined to a level only about 30 per cent of normal, where it remained almost constant. The hemoglobin content of the blood of the control animals receiving a sucrose supplement fell steadily. When the hemoglobin content of the blood of young rats was reduced by a whole milk diet to 6 or 4 Gm. per 100 c.c. level, the addition of 20 per cent dark honey to the milk caused a gradual increase in the hemoglobin, while the addition of 20 per cent light honey permitted a gradual further decline in the hemoglobin until a level of about 3 Gm. per 100 c.c. was reached. It is concluded that the dark honey can play a role in the preventionand cure of nutritional anemia in rats, while light honey is less effective as a source of the blood-forming mineral elements.