Protective Roles of Honey in Reproductive Health: A Review

Abstract

Nowadays, most people who lead healthy lifestyles tend to use natural products as supplements, complementary medicine or alternative treatments. Honey is God’s precious gift to mankind. Honey has been highly appreciated and extensively used since ancient history due to its high nutritional and therapeutic values. It is also known to enhance fertility. In the last few decades, the important role of honey in modern medicine has been acknowledged due to the large body of convincing evidence derived from extensive laboratory studies and clinical investigations. Honey has a highly complex chemical and biological composition that consists of various essential bioactive compounds, enzymes, amino and organic acids, acid phosphorylase, phytochemicals, carotenoid-like substances, vitamins and minerals. Reproductive health and fertility rates have declined in the last 30 years. Therefore, this review aimed to highlight the protective role of honey as a potential therapeutic in maintaining reproductive health. The main role of honey is to enhance fertility and treat infertility problems by acting as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy for protecting the vagina and uterus from atrophy, protecting against the toxic effects of xeno-oestrogenic agents on female reproductive functions and helping in the treatment of gynaecological disorders, such as vulvovaginal candidiasis infection, that affect women’s lives.