Anti-stress activities of acacia honey on chronic unpredictable mild stressed animal model / Nurul Hanani Mohd Rujhan

The effects of Acacia honey as an anti-stress were evaluated using Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress (CUMS) method on 12 male Sprague Dawley rats. The rats were randomly divided into 3 groups with 4 rats per group. Rats were given treatment with Acacia honey orally before inducing stress. In CUMS, rats were induced with variety types of stressors which include food and water deprivation, overnight illumination as well as swimming in cold water. These stressors were given randomly each day for 28 days. Anti-stress activities of Acacia honey were evaluated based on rats physical and behavioral changes. Physical changes that were evaluated include weight changes and food intake. Behavioral analysis of rats were conducted using Anymaze software. The parameters include number of grooming, climbing, mobility and immobility. As the result, stressed group treated with Acacia honey have an increase open field test activities as well as have a better food efficiency in term of sustained weight increase. This shows that Acacia honey could alleviate stress disorder.