Effect of Honey and Royal Jelly against Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Patients with Cancer

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Cisplatin constitutes one of the most potent antineoplastic drugs; however, nephrotoxicity limited its eligibility for optimal clinical use. This study was designed to evaluate the role of honey and royal jelly with antioxidant properties in the protection of cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury in patients with cancer.

Methods: Patients with cancer assigned for cisplatin chemotherapy were randomly divided into bee honey and royal jelly groups pretreated before the initiation and during cisplatin chemotherapeutic regimen and control group on cisplatin only. Serum creatinine and urea levels were measured before and after the chemotherapeutic cycle and over 2 cycles.

Results: Patients on crude bee honey and royal jelly capsules showed lower serum levels of renal injury products (creatinine and urea) compared to those in the control group. The changes in kidney parameters were significantly (p < 0.05) lower when compared within the bee honey group before and after cisplatin treatment. Royal jelly was found to be effective; however, the difference in creatinine and urea levels before and after chemotherapy was not statistically significant.

Conclusions: The use of bee honey and royal jelly as natural compounds is effective in reducing cisplatin nephrotoxicity and may offer a promising chance for clinically meaningful prevention. This study has potentially important implications for the treatment of cisplatin kidney side effects and is considered to be the first to investigate this effect of honey and royal jelly in human subjects. However, due to its small sample size, we recommend further investigation using a larger sample size.