Potential protective effects of prolonged preconditioning with natural honey against
myocardial infarction were investigated. Male Wistar rats were pre-treated with honey (1%, 2% and 4%) for 45 days then their hearts were isolated and mounted on a Langendorff apparatus and perfused with a modified
Krebs-Henseleit solution during 30 min regional
ischemia fallowed by 120 min reperfusion. Two important indexes of
ischemia-induced damage (
infarction size and arrhythmias) were determined by computerized planimetry and ECG analysis, respectively. Honey (1% and 2%) reduced
infarct size from 23±3.1% (control) to 9.7±2.4 and 9.5±2.3%, respectively (P<0.001). At the
ischemia, honey (1%) significantly reduced (P<0.05) the number and duration of
ventricular tachycardia (VT). Honey (1% and 2%) also significantly decreased number of
ventricular ectopic beats (VEBs). In addition, incidence and duration of reversible
ventricular fibrillation (Rev VF) were lowered by honey 2% (P<0.05). During reperfusion, honey produced significant reduction in the incidences of VT, total and Rev VF, duration and number of VT. The results showed cardioprotective effects of prolonged pre-treatment of rats with honey following
myocardial infarction. Maybe, the existence of
antioxidants and energy sources (
glucose and
fructose) in honey composition and improvement of hemodynamic functions may involve in those protective effects.