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09.12.2017

Mad honey boosts free testosterone by factor 10, in animal study

Mad honey, a type of honey that's popular the world over as an aphrodisiac, boosts the concentration of free testosterone in the blood by 10 times. Researchers at Karadeniz Technical University in Turkey discovered this when they gave mad honey to animals in their laboratory.

Mad honey
Mad honey is honey produced by bees that have fed from the plant Rhododendron ponticum [see below] and its relatives. This type of honey contains grayanotoxins, which, in small quantities reduce blood pressure and increase men's sexual capacities, but in larger quantities are toxic. Most cases of poisoning have a happy ending, but there are an awful lot of these cases.

[Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2017 Nov;55(9):991-5.] [Turk J Emerg Med. 2016 Mar 11;15(4):185-6.] [Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015 Dec;19(23):4647-53.] [Food Chem Toxicol. 2015 Dec;86:282-90.] [Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2016 Feb;23(4):3300-9.] [J Emerg Med. 2016 Jan;50(1):51-4.] [Ann Saudi Med. 2015 Mar-Apr;35(2):161-4.] [Korean J Intern Med. 2015 Jul;30(4):540-2.] [J Pak Med Assoc. 2014 Sep;64(9):1078-80.] [Cardiovasc Toxicol. 2016 Jan;16(1):1-4.] [Niger J Clin Pract. 2014 Sep-Oct;17(5):589-93.] [Balkan Med J. 2013 Sep;30(3):293-5.] [Indian J Crit Care Med. 2013 May;17(3):192-3.] [Intern Emerg Med. 2014 Mar;9(2):207-11.] [Hong Kong Med J. 2013 Aug;19(4):354-6.] [Ann Intern Med. 2012 Nov 20;157(10):755-6.] [Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2012 Nov;16(12):1748-50.] [J Cardiovasc Dis Res. 2012 Jul;3(3):245-7.] [Cardiovasc Toxicol. 2012 Sep;12(3):208-15.] [Tex Heart Inst J. 2011;38(5):577-80.] [J Emerg Med. 2012 Dec;43(6):e389-91.] [Can J Cardiol. 2011 Nov-Dec;27(6):870.e17-9.] [Acta Clin Belg. 2011 Mar-Apr;66(2):152.] [ISRN Toxicol. 2011 Oct 26;2011:526426.]

So we can't say using mad honey is a safe practice. And don't say we haven't warned you.

Despite the risks associated with mad honey, the demand for the stuff worldwide is enormous - and as a result it's outrageously expensive. The small pot shown below costs 99 dollars.

Study
Mad honey manufacturers usually advise people to take 4-6 g a day. That's one tablespoon. The researchers gave male rats an equivalent dose for 30 days.

Results
The researchers found twice as much testosterone in the blood of the rats that had been given mad honey than they found in the control group. When they looked at the concentration of free testosterone alone, they found that the rats that had been given mad honey had 10 times more testosterone.

Supplementation with mad honey had no significant effect on the rats' LH or FSH levels.

Nor did the rats' estradiol or progesterone levels change.

Mechanism
"This study of mad honey observed a significant increase in both total and free testosterone levels compared to the normal honey and control groups," the researchers wrote. "The mechanism involved in this increase in testosterone levels is unclear."

The researchers suspect that mad honey boosts testosterone production via the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.

Conclusion
"Further studies involving larger case series as well as clinical studies are needed to evaluate the effect of mad honey on sexual performance and corroborate these findings," the researchers concluded.

Source:
Bratisl Lek Listy. 2016;117(11):677-80.

More:
Drone milk: boosts testosterone and has an anabolic effect too 08.04.2014
A little bit of Royal Jelly increases testosterone level by 22 percent 16.08.2012
The Royal Jelly testosterone factor - part 2 21.03.2011

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