Effectiveness of Dorsata Honey Suplement on Interleukin‑3 Levels in Breast Cancer Patients Who Underwent Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy causes debilitating side effects include a decrease in blood cell counts. Interleukin‑3 (IL‑3) is a hematopoietic growth factor with extensive and multipotent activity. Honey is a natural product that has been widely used and researched for its therapeutic effects including increase the formation of blood cells. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of honey supplement to IL‑3 levels in breast cancer patients who underwent chemotherapy. The study sample included all populations diagnosed with breast cancer by the clinician in the Surgical Oncology Department of Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital Makassar who met the criteria for the period September to November 2018, divided into two groups, intervention and control. The intervention group was given honey orally three times a day at a dose of 15 ml (2 tablespoons) for 15 days. Examination of blood samples to measure IL‑3 levels through ELISA. The statistical analysis performed is descriptive statistic calculation, frequency distribution and Chi Square statistical test, Independent‑t and Paired‑t test, with P <0.05. The results of this study showed a significant increase in mean IL‑3 levels in the group that received honey which was 70.07 pg/dL compared to 143.46 pg/dL with an average increase of 73.4 pg/dL (104.7%; p < 0.05), while the group that did not get honey did not experience a statistically significant change of 88.88 pg/dL compared to 84.36 pg/dL, the mean decrease was 4.52 pg/dL (5.1%; p> 0.05). Conclusion: Honey supplementation increases IL‑3 levels in breast cancer patients underwent chemotherapy.