Investigation of the anti-tumoral effect of honey in experimental pancreatic cancer

This study aimed to investigate the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of Quercus pyrenaica honey on pancreatic cancer. The azaserine-rat model was used. The animals were divided into five groups: control, honey, azaserine, therapeutic, prophylactic. After 11 weeks of follow-up, the pancreatic tissues of the rats were removed, and the atypical acinar cell foci (AACF), which are considered to be the precursor lesions of pancreatic cancer caused by azaserine, were microscopically examined and recorded. The groups were compared in terms of the quantitative measurements of AACF, cancer antigen 19–9, and C-reactive protein values. Both in the prophylactic group that was administered honey simultaneously with azaserine and in the therapeutic group that was administered honey three weeks after azaserine, the quantitative data of the AACF, namely the number of focus intersections per unit area, the ratio of the AACF size to the whole pancreas size, and the estimated number of foci per unit volume, were found to be significantly lower compared to the azaserine group ( p < 0.05). Quercus pyrenaica honey exhibited this effect both prophylactically and therapeutically. The results of study will be more significant if supported by clinical studies in this field.