Effects of honey supplementation on safety profiles among postmenopausal breast cancer patients

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of honey supplementation on the safety profiles of postmenopausal breast cancer patients. METHODS: Seventy-two postmenopausal women with stage I, II, or III breast cancer from the Oncology Clinic, Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital were treated with anastrozole (1 mg/day). Patients were randomly assigned to one of the two groups (n = 36/group): a control group (no honey) and a honey group (20 g/day of honey for 12 weeks). Fasting blood samples were obtained pre- and post-intervention to investigate differences in the haematological, renal, and liver profiles of patients in both the groups. RESULTS: Post-intervention, alanine aminotransferase levels were significantly higher in the control group than in the honey group. In the honey group, white blood cell counts, platelet counts, and creatinine levels were significantly higher following honey supplementation for 12 weeks. Nevertheless, the values were still within normal ranges. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that honey supplementation of 20 g/day for 12 weeks is safe and beneficial for postmenopausal breast cancer patients.