Effect of Three Months of Honey Supplementation on Heart Rate Variability and Baroreflex Sensitivity in Type 2...

Background Honey, by means of its hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and antioxidant properties, might help in preventing the progression of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in diabetes. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of honey supplementation for three months on cardiovascular autonomic function tests in diabetic neuropathy (DN) patients. Methodology This follow-up study was conducted among 48 type 2 diabetic patients who were on antidiabetic drugs for a minimum of one year. Heart rate variability (HRV), baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), and classical autonomic function tests were performed for all recruited participants pre- and post-honey supplementation. Honey was administered at a dose of 0.5 g/kg body weight/day for three months. Results After three months of honey supplementation, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure reduced significantly. The HRV parameters showed a significant increase in the square root of the mean squared differences of successive normal to normal intervals, standard deviation of normal to normal intervals, and total power, along with a reduction in the low-frequency component expressed as normalized unit and ratio of low-frequency power to high-frequency power of HRV. Further, the difference in diastolic blood pressure between sitting and the isometric hand grip procedure decreased, and the BRS increased significantly. There was a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, and markers of oxidative stress. A significant rise in nitric oxide was noted after three months of honey supplementation. Conclusions Three months of honey supplementation in diabetic patients along with antidiabetic treatment helped in a substantial reduction in blood glucose, dyslipidemia, and oxidative stress parameters, which are markers of cardiovascular risk. There was attenuation of autonomic imbalance with augmentation of the vagal drive and a reduction in the sympathetic activity in these patients.