Effectiveness of Honey Supplementation to Overcome Depressive Symptoms in University Students: An Evidence-based Quasi-experimental Study from Indonesia.
- 1Public Health Study Program, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin, Indonesia.
Abstract
Background
Depression is a mental health disorder that affects many people, including college students. It can significantly impact a person's quality of life, making concentrating, studying, and performing daily activities difficult. Some studies have shown that honey may have antidepressant properties, but its effectiveness as a treatment for depression in college students has not been fully explored.Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of daily honey supplementation in reducing depressive symptoms among university students over 10 weeks, compared with a control condition.Methods
This is a quasi-experimental study. Students (18-25 years) were purposively recruited from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin Makassar, Indonesia. A total of 46 students were enrolled and non-randomly allocated to the honey intervention (n=22) or control (n=24). DASS-21 outcomes were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Exclusion criteria included allergy to honey, current antidepressant medication, comorbid psychiatric conditions, and non-compliance during intervention. The intervention group received 2 teaspoons (5 ml) of honey orally once daily for 10 weeks, administered under researcher supervision. Depression levels were measured before and after the intervention using the validated DASS-21 scale. Data collection also included a Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (SQ-FFQ) and a 24-hour recall to control dietary intake. Assessed at baseline and the end of the study using the paired t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA).Results
The results showed a significant reduction in depression rates in the honey intervention group compared to the control group. This is evidenced by a decrease in the depression score from 7.22 to 4.45 and a p-value = 0.002. The intervention group showed improvement, with "normal" classification increasing from 81.8% to 95.5%, and no cases of mild depression observed post-intervention.Conclusion
Honey treatment showed promising effectiveness as a complementary approach in alleviating depression among college students. Future studies with larger randomized samples are recommended to confirm these findings.
Related
- Exercise-Induced Dehydration Limits the Effectiveness of Post-Exercise Whey Protein Supplementation in Healthy Young Men
- Serum biochemical and hematological responses of broiler chickens to herbal-origin anticoccidial supplementation during experimental Eimeria infection.
- Neuroprotective effects of Entandrophragma cylindricum (Meliaceae) extract against "Odontol''-induced cognitive and depressive disorders: An integrated HPLC, molecular docking and experimental validation.
- Mutualistic relationships between male inflorescences of Elaeis guineensis Jacquin and its pollinator Elaeidobius kamerunicus Faust (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Derelominae): Comparison between two cultivars for E. kamerunicus progeny emergence in North Sumatra Indonesia
- Multispectral UAV dataset for multi-temporal mangrove monitoring in the Cirebon Coastal Area, Indonesia (2025-2026).
BibTeX
@article{satrianegara2026effectiveness,
title = {{Effectiveness of Honey Supplementation to Overcome Depressive Symptoms in University Students: An Evidence-based Quasi-experimental Study from Indonesia.}},
author = {M Fais Satrianegara and Yessy Kurniati and Bs Titi Haerana},
journal = {Acta medica Philippina},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.47895/amp.v60i15.10864},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924115},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effectiveness of Honey Supplementation to Overcome Depressive Symptoms in University Students: An Evidence-based Quasi-experimental Study from Indonesia.
AU - M Fais Satrianegara
AU - Yessy Kurniati
AU - Bs Titi Haerana
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/15
JO - Acta medica Philippina
DO - 10.47895/amp.v60i15.10864
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42924115
AB - Background Depression is a mental health disorder that affects many people, including college students. It can significantly impact a person's quality of life, making concentrating, studying, and performing daily activities difficult. Some studies have shown that honey may have antidepressant properties, but its effectiveness as a treatment for depression in college students has not been fully explored.Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of daily honey supplementation in reducing depressive symptoms among university students over 10 weeks, compared with a control condition.Methods This is a quasi-experimental study. Students (18-25 years) were purposively recruited from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin Makassar, Indonesia. A total of 46 students were enrolled and non-randomly allocated to the honey intervention (n=22) or control (n=24). DASS-21 outcomes were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Exclusion criteria included allergy to honey, current antidepressant medication, comorbid psychiatric conditions, and non-compliance during intervention. The intervention group received 2 teaspoons (5 ml) of honey orally once daily for 10 weeks, administered under researcher supervision. Depression levels were measured before and after the intervention using the validated DASS-21 scale. Data collection also included a Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (SQ-FFQ) and a 24-hour recall to control dietary intake. Assessed at baseline and the end of the study using the paired t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA).Results The results showed a significant reduction in depression rates in the honey intervention group compared to the control group. This is evidenced by a decrease in the depression score from 7.22 to 4.45 and a p-value = 0.002. The intervention group showed improvement, with "normal" classification increasing from 81.8% to 95.5%, and no cases of mild depression observed post-intervention.Conclusion Honey treatment showed promising effectiveness as a complementary approach in alleviating depression among college students. Future studies with larger randomized samples are recommended to confirm these findings.
SN - 0001-6071
SN - 2094-9278
ER -