The Effect of Clover Honey Supplementation on the Anthropometric Measurements and Lipid Profile of Malnourished Infants and Children

Abstract

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) remains a substantial global health problem. Since ancient times, honey has been used as a medicinal food. Honey was mentioned in several relegious books, mainly in Quran. Honey is a natural sweetener, containing mainly monosaccharaides (up to 80%), disaccharides (3–5%), water (17–20%) and a wide range of minor constituents such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids, enzymes and phytochemicals, mainly phenolic acids and flavonoids This study aimed to assess the role of clover honey supplementation on nutritional rehabilitation of the malnourished infants and children. This study was conducted on Pediatric Nutrition Clinic of Ain Shams University, during the period from November 2019 to November 2020, on 40 malnourished infants and children divided into two groups: Group 1 (20 children; 11 males and 9 females): received honey in a dose of 1.75ml/kg/dose, twice weekly for 12 weeks. And Group 2 (20 children; 6 males and 14 females): the children did not receive honey. Children with severe systemic illness, malabsorption or inborn error of metabolism were excluded from the study