Effect of natural honey on serum immunoglobulins and salivary IgA

ABSTRACT

Honey has been largely used in empirical medicine. The most important function of immunoglobuline is the defensive action against infection. The materials of the present study comprised twenty normal persons, who were assessed clinically and laboratory before and after two weeks after daily consumption of fixed amount of honey [60 gm].Our results has revealed statistically significant IgG rise as it represents the principal and maintained antibody response towards the biological activity in honey. We can attribute the rise of serum IgG to the stimulatory effect of honey on the humoral immune response mediated by pollens. We can expect a more clear rise of IgA with prolonged regimes of honey intake as our results revealed a minimal yet stable statistically insignificant rise in all groups. The observed reduction in salivary IgA can be attributed to the possible bactericidal effect of honey on the bacterial growth in oral cavity and gut