{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,7]],"date-time":"2026-05-07T23:08:00Z","timestamp":1778195280109,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,2]],"date-time":"2021-06-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1622592000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004515","name":"Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UKM; FF-2020-014"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UKM; FF-2020-014"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004515","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003093","name":"Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["FRGS\/1\/2019\/SKK06\/UKM\/02\/3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FRGS\/1\/2019\/SKK06\/UKM\/02\/3"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003093","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Gelam honey (GH) is a prized natural product synthesized from the nectar of flowers from Gelam trees (Melaleuca sp.). Gelam is an evergreen tree species that grows in tropical regions such as Malaysia. GH is a multifloral honey with proven antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the beneficial effect of GH on female reproductive tissue has yet to be substantiated. Herein, we investigated the effects of GH administration on the uterine and vaginal epithelial thickness of sexually mature Sprague\u2013Dawley rats. Epithelia thickness could be an indicator of an atrophy manifesting as a symptom of a cardio syndrome. Rats were given oral doses of GH in four groups for 14 days; the lowest dose was 0.2 g GH\/kg body weight (bw) rat\/day and the highest dose was 8 g GH\/kg bw rat\/day. The physicochemical characteristics of GH were assessed through hydroxymethylfurfural and moisture content determination and sugar identification. GH attenuated the atrophy of the uterine and vaginal epithelia and increased the thickness of the endometrial stroma and endometrial surface endothelial layer. However, the dissonance observed in the effect of GH administration on the vaginal epithelium requires further investigation. Nevertheless, GH may have a strong potential in attenuating uterine and vaginal atrophies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules26113346","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,2]],"date-time":"2021-06-02T10:38:39Z","timestamp":1622630319000},"page":"3346","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["The Physicochemical Characteristics of Gelam Honey and Its Outcome on the Female Reproductive Tissue of Sprague\u2013Dawley Rats: A Preliminary Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6097-6310","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nur Hilwani","family":"Ismail","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Applied Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam 40450, Malaysia"},{"name":"Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3348-0672","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Khairul","family":"Osman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Diagnostic Science and Applied Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aini Farzana","family":"Zulkefli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7801-6358","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohd Helmy","family":"Mokhtar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4474-8032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Siti Fatimah","family":"Ibrahim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6882-13-43","article-title":"Physicochemical and antioxidant properties of Malaysian honeys produced by Apis cerana, Apis dorsata and Apis mellifera","volume":"13","author":"Moniruzzaman","year":"2013","journal-title":"BMC Complementary Altern. 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