The Effects of stingless bee (Tetragonula biroi) honey on streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in rats

Muhamad Sahlan; Oktavia Rahmawati; Diah Kartika Pratami; Rika Raffiudin; Rino Rakhmata Mukti; Heri Hermasyah

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2019.11.039

The Effects of stingless bee (Tetragonula biroi) honey on streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in rats

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2020 Aug;27(8):2025-2030. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2019.11.039. Epub 2019 Dec 2.

Authors

Muhamad Sahlan^{1

2}, Oktavia Rahmawati¹, Diah Kartika Pratami³, Rika Raffiudin⁴, Rino Rakhmata Mukti⁵, Heri Hermasyah¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java 16425, Indonesia.
² Research Center for Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, West Java 16425, Indonesia.
³ Lab of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pancasila, South Jakarta, DKI Jakarta 12640, Indonesia.
⁴ Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematic & Natural Sciences, IPB University (Bogor Agricultural University), Bogor 16880, West Java, Indonesia.
⁵ Division of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, and Research Center for Nanosciences and Nanotechnology, Institut Teknologi Bandung , Jl. Ganesha No. 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia.

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia with impaired carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism caused by defects in insulin secretion or action. Based on our previous research, stingless bee honey (SLBH) from Tetragonula biroi and T. laeviceps can inhibit alpha-glucosidase activities. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effects of daily oral administration of SLBH on body weight (BW) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels of male rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DM. Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into six groups of six rats each. One group of normal non-diabetic rats served as a positive control. The diabetic groups were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with STZ (50 mg/kg BW) for induction of DM and divided into five equal subgroups of six animals each: an untreated group as a negative control; a group treated with 0.6 mg/kg BW of glibenclamide as a positive control and three SLBN treatment groups that had daily oral administration of 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg BW, respectively, for 35 days. The results showed that SLBH significantly reduced loss of BW in diabetic rats. FBG levels in diabetic rat blood, collected from the tail, were measured using Accu-Chek test strips. The FBG levels in diabetic rats that have oral administered intake with glibenclamide and SLBH were stable. There were no changes in serum FBG levels in SLBH-treated diabetic rats for 35 days. Pancreatic histopathology results from all groups showed no abnormalities or tissue damage in either diabetic or non-diabetic rats. The results of this study show that administration of SLBH reduced BW loss or improved BW of rats with STZ-induced DM. Meanwhile, the reduction in loss of BW that occurred in diabetic rats after 35 days of SLBH administration was the result of reduced formation of fats and proteins, which are broken down into energy. Further research is needed to determine the antidiabetic effects of honey from other stingless honeybee species.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; STZ-induced diabetic rats; Stingless bee honey; T. laeviceps; Tetragonula biroi.