title: Honey and a mixture of honey, beeswax, and olive oil-propolis extract in treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis: a randomized controlled pilot study.
abstract: In spite of being one of the most investigated subjects among supportive care in cancer, no therapy has been found effective in treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis. Based on the observations that honey bees products have anti-inflammatory and wound healing effects, the present study tried to evaluate the effect of topical application of honey and a mixture of honey, olive oil-propolis extract, and beeswax (HOPE) in treatment of oral mucositis. This was a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted on 90 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and oral mucositis grades 2 and 3. The mean age of enrolled patients was 6.9 years. The patients were assigned into 3 equal treatment groups: Honey, HOPE, and control groups. Topical treatment for each patient consists of honey, HOPE, and benzocaine gel for honey, HOPE, and control groups, respectively. Recovery time in grade 2 mucositis was significantly reduced in the honey group as compared with either HOPE or controls (P < .05). In grade 3 mucositis, recovery time did not differ significantly between honey and HOPE (P = 0.61) but compared with controls, healing was faster with either honey or HOPE (P < .01). Generally, in both grades of mucositis, honey produced faster healing than either HOPE or controls (P < .05). Based on our results that showed that honey produced faster healing in patients with grade 2/3 chemotherapy-induced mucositis, we recommend using honey and possibly other bee products and olive oil in future therapeutic trials targeting chemotherapy-induced mucositis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. mamdouh565@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Mamdouh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdulrhman
authors.forename: Nancy Samir
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Elbarbary
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ahmed Amin
authors.forename: Rania
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saeid Ebrahim
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000379:methods; D006722:Honey; D006801:Humans; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010938:Plant Oils; D011429:Propolis; D013280:Stomatitis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014885:Waxes
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010938:Plant Oils; D014885:Waxes; C038228:beeswax; D011429:Propolis