Aim: This study aimed to determine the potential of honey as anti-osteoporosis by evaluating its effectiveness in increasing bone impact strength and cortical thickness, through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination.

Materials and Methods: Forty-five female rats at 3 months of age, weighing 150-200 g were used in the study. They were placed in individual cages and adapted to food and environment for 10 days. On the 11th day, after the animals were adapted for 10 days, the animals were randomly divided into five treatment groups (n=9): Sham operation group (SH); ovariohysterectomized (OVX) group with no treatment; OVX with treatment Apis dorsata 1 g/kg BW (AD-1); OVX with treatment A. dorsata 2 g/kg BW (AD-2); and OVX with treatment A. dorsata 4 g/kg BW (AD-3). Furthermore, those nine rats in each treatment group were divided into three groups. Three of them were observed at months 1st, 2nd, and 3rd so that in each observation taken three rats in each treatment group. At the end of the study, the rats were euthanized and necropsy for taking their second femoral bone, i.e. dexter region for examining their bone impact strength, while the sinister region was used for measure the cortical thickness of the femoral diaphysis and examining their bone microarchitecture using SEM analysis.

Results: Based on results of the ANOVA test, the cortical thickness measurements of femoral diaphyseal can be seen that from month 1 to month 3 the lowest result was found in the group of rats that were OVX-I. Meanwhile, the highest result was found in the group of rats that were not OVX (SH-III). It was significantly different from the other treatment groups (p<0.05). The groups of rats were OVX with honey supplementation at doses of 2 g/kg BW had shown an increasing pattern in the cortical bone thickness from month 1 to month 3. Even on the observation of the 3rd month, the cortical bone thickness in the AD-2 (AD-2-III) group was not significantly different (p>0.05) from that in the group of rats was not OVX in month 1 (SH-I). The results of the bone impact strength measurement from month 1 to month 3 indicated that the groups of rats were OVX without the administration of honey supplements had the lowest value. The highest bone impact strength was found in the group of rats that was not OVX, but not significantly different (p>0.05) with the groups of rats that were OVX administered honey supplement with a dose of 2 g/kg BW (AD-2) and 4 g/kg BW (AD-3).

Conclusion: The supplement of honey A. dorsata at doses of 2 g/kg BW in the group of rats was that OVX can inhibit the decreasing of the cortical bone thickness and repair damage in microarchitecture to generate bone impact strength. As a result, bones are not easily broken.

Keywords: bone impact strength, cortical thickness, honey Apis dorsata, microarchitecture, ovariohysterectomy.

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