PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE ABILITY OF HONEYDEW HONEY TO MODULATE THE IN VITRO REACTIVITY OF AVIAN LEUKOCYTES
Abstract
Honey’s significant contribution to the treatment of several pathologies is well recognized by both traditional and modern medicine. Among the natural bee products, the honeydew honey is mentioned especially for its high antioxidant activity (Vela et al., 2007) and also for its antimicrobial potency (Niculae et al., 2008). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of two types of honeydew honey on avian leukocytes in vitro reactivity by performing the leukocyte blast transformation test. These honeys were evaluated individually and also in combination with four alcoholic extracts obtained from Hippophae rhamnoides, Thymus vulgaris, Calendula officinalis and Echinaceea angustifolia. Evaluating statistically the data, we observed that the stimulatory effect determined by the honeydew honey sample is comparable to those exhibited by Calendula officinalis and also Hippophae rhamnoides, well known in literature. The in vitro evaluation of two honeydew honey samples, carried out using the blast transformation test, indicated a possible stimulatory influence on the avian leukocytes growth capacity. Further in vitro and also in vivo assays are required in order to consider this bee product as an immune modulator agent
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