Effects of Different Doses of Tualang Honey on Pain Behavior in Rats with Formalin-Induced Inflammation

Abstract

Honey was reported to reduce pain and inflammation. However, very few studies have investigated on the effective dose of honey that reduces pain and inflammation. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different doses of Tualang honey on pain behavior and inflammation induced by formalin injection. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley male rats (250-300 g) were randomly allocated to four different treatment groups (n=6 per group). Each group was force-fed either with distilled water, 0.2 g/kg, 1.2 g/kg or 2.4 g/kg Tualang honey for 5 days. Intraplantar 1% formalin (0.1 ml) was given on the fifth day and rat’s pain behavior was recorded using a digital camera for an hour. Paw diameter and circumference were recorded before and four hours after formalin injection. Pain behavior score was tabulated at each minute and averaged at five minutes interval. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post hoc  Bonferroni test was used to analyze the data and significance level was accepted at P < 0.05. There was no difference in the pain behavior score between all groups in the first 10 minutes post-formalin injection. However, the pain behavior score was significantly reduced from minute-35 to 60 post-formalin in the group receiving 1.2 g/kg honey compared to control group. The reduction of pain behavior score was not significant in the groups receiving 0.2 g/kg and 2.4 g/kg of honey. There was no significant difference in the paw diameter and circumference between the groups. It is concluded that Tualang honey at 1.2 g/kg significantly reduced pain behavior score in the rats with formalin-induced inflammation, while the low and high dose did not give significant response. The results throw some light for the possible use of honey as a pre-emptive analgesic agent.