Effect of Oral Administration of Honey on Arginase Activity of Rats Exposed to Smoke

In this paper, we report the effect of oral administration of 125 mg/kg honey on the liver and kidney arginase activity of rats exposed to smoke from hydrocarbon-fueled lantern. Eighteen Wistar albino rats (weighing 150-200 g) were randomly assigned into three groups of 6 rats each. Group one served as the control (CTR) that was not exposed to smoke while Group two and three were exposed to smoke alone (SMW) and smoke with honey (SMH) respectively for 12 weeks. Results showed that the inhalation of smoke by the rats for 12 weeks significantly (p<0.05) reduced the total weight gain of experimental rats. The integrity of the liver and kidney were compromised in the SMW group as compared to the control and the SMH rats. There was a significant increase in arginase activity of SMW rats as compared to the control rats; Liver (0.71 ± 0.04 µmol/ml/min), Kidney (0.50 ± 1.07 µmol/ml/min). In addition, there was a significant reduction of arginase activity in the SMH rats as compared to the SMW rat; Liver (0.50 ± 0.06 µmol/ml/min), kidney (0.38 ± 0.60 µmol/ml/min). Our findings suggest that honey has a protective effect on liver and kidney in animals exposed to smoke.