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

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(α)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 (≤2cm3) compared to Controls (≤8cm3). 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.