Bee Honey and Functional Dyspepsia in Children

Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Clinical Trial

Official title: Bee Honey as a Therapeutic Modality for Children With Functional Dyspepsia

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

Functional dyspepsia is a constellation of diverse gastrointestinal disturbing symptoms with multifactorial feature, varying from upper abdominal bloating to nausea and vomiting, that are not attributable to organic causes after proper medical assessment. Treatment options are unsatisfactory due to the lack of identifiable pathophysiology as well as the pharmacological therapy are less effective, so using an additional reliable non-pharmacological therapy would be promising.

Bee honey has not only being used as food but also it has being used as an alternative medicine for its several benefits in different health aspects. This study will address the use of bee honey as an adjuvant therapy to functional dyspepsia in children under proper follow-up periods.

Clinical Trial Description

Functional dyspepsia (FD), among the most common gastrointestinal (GIT) disorders, is characterized by early satiation, postprandial fullness, epigastric pain, or epigastric burning in the absence of an organic or metabolic disease. FD is not a life-threatening serious illness, but its symptoms could persist; rather, they limit one's social life and reduce their quality of life. In addition, FD constitutes a serious disease burden worldwide because of its high prevalence.

Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) in the form of Omeprazole had the best result on all dyspeptic symptoms being relieved on children aged 3-18 years with dyspepsia.

Nonetheless, the efficacy of pharmacological therapies remains unsatisfactory and a considerable number of FD patients are refractory to conventional pharmacological treatments. Furthermore, low compliance of the traditional therapy can be observed in some FD patients as they would opt out from these pharmacological options because of the concerns on the side effects. In the absence of an approved drug to treat FD many patients seek person-centered, nonpharmacological approaches.

As the consumption of nutrients can moderate the sensors of the upper gastrointestinal tract movement, changes in diet can probably improve the symptoms of functional dyspepsia. Alternative and complementary medicine has also been proposed as a practical treatment for dyspepsia. Another substance used for treating this disorder is honey, which is economical and has a short treatment period. Many old sources have reported the use of honey for preventing stomach ulcers, gastritis, and gastroenteritis. Honey has a stimulating effect on the stomach nerves, which may be due to the antioxidant activity of honey. According to a study, the consumption of honey reduces the acidic activity of the stomach by 56%. Another study showed the effect of honey on the improved blood supply of stomach microscopic capillaries and it helped in the repair of ulcers. The symptoms of functional dyspepsia can also be improved through diet education. In various studies, most people have reported the onset or exacerbation of dyspepsia symptoms after eating. Unhealthy nutritional behaviors can exacerbate the symptoms of functional dyspepsia.

Adjuvant supplementation of honey based formulation of Nigella sativa can cause significant symptomatic improvement of patients with functional dyspepsia.

Honey is considered one of the most common foods having alleviating effects on non-ulcer dyspepsia.

In considerations of scarce knowledge in this field, health attributes of bee honey as a reliable therapy to improve the symptoms of functional dyspepsia in children, deserves seeking for. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Digestive System Diseases
• Dyspepsia
• Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
• Gastrointestinal Diseases

• NCT number: NCT05209646
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Ain Shams University
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 21, 2022
• Completion date: July 1, 2022