article · Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmacognosy Research
A prospective clinical study in the Guelmim region of southern Morocco investigated the therapeutic effects of honey on adults suffering from acute respiratory infections. Conducted between September 2022 and March 2023 across a regional hospital and local health centres, the research compared two equal groups of 417 participants: one receiving honey and a reference control group. Patient assessments and monitoring records demonstrated that consuming honey significantly reduced the overall symptom score by Day 5. Statistical analysis revealed that the absence of honey consumption, along with a high initial symptom score, illness duration, and daytime or nocturnal cough frequency, strongly correlated with persistent high symptom scores at Day 5. Other significant variables influencing outcomes included age, associated diseases, previous respiratory consultations, and smoking status. Overall, honey proved effective in reducing symptoms and serves as a potential adjuvant therapy for adult respiratory infections.
Acute respiratory infections represent a frequent reason for primary healthcare visits. Demonstrating that honey effectively reduces common respiratory symptoms provides evidence for its role as an accessible, complementary remedy. This evidence supports simple, non-pharmaceutical options to assist symptom management in adult patients.
The findings support the use of honey as an adjuvant treatment for adult respiratory symptoms, which could inform products in the over-the-counter consumer healthcare and natural remedies sectors. While the clinical testing on human cohorts demonstrates practical therapeutic value, the abstract does not describe a proprietary formulation or a specific product development pathway, indicating an applied clinical finding rather than a commercial product near deployment.
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Context: In Morocco, acute respiratory infections (ARI) are a frequent cause of consultations in the first level health facilities. Scientific reports indicate that honey has an important biochemical therapeutic activity. Aims: To explore the therapeutic effect of honey on ARI in the Guelmim region of southern Morocco. Methods: This was a prospective clinical study aiming to compare the therapeutic effect of honey in the population that consumes it versus a control population, at the level of the regional hospital and health centers, the period of the study was between September 2022 and March 2023, All the participants were questioned through a questionnaire and the study of their files and monitoring forms. Results: The study population was divided into two equal groups of 417 people each. Honey significantly reduced the overall symptom score at Day 5 (p<0.001) in the honey group compared with the reference group, according to the ANOVA test, the significant variables are age, presence of associated diseases, duration of illness, number of consultations for respiratory episodes and current smoking status, the present study also shows that non consumption of honey OR = 15.09 [10.26-22.17], high symptom score at D1 OR = 3.85 [2.37-5.39], frequency of nocturnal cough OR = 4.26 [1.65-10.9], frequency of diurnal cough OR = 3.34 [1.5-7.4], duration of illness OR = 7.12 [3.4-14.6] and type of cough OR = 1.5 [1.04-2.2] were the determinants of high symptom score at Day 5. Conclusions: Honey was effective in relieving symptoms associated with ARI and may be suggested as an adjuvant treatment in adults.
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DOI: 10.56499/jppres23.1933_12.4.647
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