Effects of bee honey on promotion of peripheral nerve regeneration in an experimental model of nerve crush injury

Peripheral nerve injuries are commonly encountered within clinical settings because of accidental trauma. This study aimed to examine the therapeutic effect of bee honey on peripheral nerve crush injury through a histological and physiological perspective. In this study, forty Wistar rats were divided into four groups. Rats were subjected to surgical operations to expose the sciatic nerve. Animals of the first group were operated without inducing any lesion to the nerve. The other three groups were subjected to induction of nerve crush injury. Two groups of them were treated with honey solution locally and intraperitoneally respectively. The other group served as injured nontreated group. Two physiological tests were performed to examine the living animals' nerve functions. At the end of the experimental period, the rats were sacrificed, and samples from the sciatic nerve and gastrocnemius muscle were obtained for histological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural examination. Physiological indicators and structural investigations demonstrated considerable amelioration of the function and structure of nerves and muscles in the two treated groups compared with the injured nontreated group. The findings indicate that the bee honey has a curative effect on the peripheral nerve crush injury in the rat model.