Abu Bakar NH
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 20400 Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
Title: Honey potentially alleviates the analgesic tolerance and physical dependence to morphine in rats
Biography
Biography: Abu Bakar NH
Abstract
Honey has been used traditionally as a remedy as well as a food supplement.
Honey is said to be able to cure many diseases. However, its influences on opioid tolerance
and dependence have not yet been clarified. Objective: To determine the effect of honey on the development of morphine tolerance and dependence. Materials and Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were rendered tolerant to the analgesic effect of morphine by injection of morphine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) twice daily for 14 days. To develop morphine dependence, the rats were given chronic escalating doses of morphine. To determine the effect of stingless bee honey on the development of morphine tolerance and dependence, the hotplate and naloxone precipitation tests were used for the assessment. Results: Our results showed that chronic morphine-injected rats displayed tolerance to the analgesic effect of morphine as well as morphine dependence. Methadone+morphine (MetM), methadone+morphine+honey (MetMH) and morphine+Honey (MH) significantly lower the development of morphine tolerance with p-value p<0.05. In addition, a concomitant treatment of morphine with MH and MetMH attenuated almost all of the naloxone-induced withdrawal signs which include abdominal contraction, diarrhea, pertussis, teeth chattering, and jumping. Conclusion: The data indicate that honey has a potential to reduce tolerance and dependence in chronic morphine exposure.