Studies that evaluated the effect of royal jelly on athletes’ performance and health outcomes
Authors (year), country | Participants and their characteristic | Aim | Dose of RJ/sample | Duration/level of sport | Result | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Swimmers | ||||||
Sarita et al. (2011), Türkiye | N: 40 Sex: Male Groups: 4 Age: 18-25 years |
Effect of RJ on biochemical parameters | 0.5, 1, and 2 g/d Blood | 4 weeks 20 km in 2 h, 5 days a week |
-Increase: Blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels -No change: Glucose, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, LDH, CK, AST, and ALT levels |
Different doses of RJ supplementation were not statistically significantly effective on biochemical parameters |
Nazmı et al. (2014), Türkiye | N: 40 Sex: Male Groups: 4 Age:18-25 years |
Effect of RJ on hematological blood markers | 0.5, 1, and 2 g of RJ/d Blood | 4 weeks 20 km in 2 h, 5 days a week |
-Increase: MCV, MCH, MCHC, EO%, PLT, MPV, PCT, and PDW -Decrease: HCT, CHCM, CH, HDW, WBC, BA%, LY%, BA -No change: BMI, body fat%, body height, and body weight |
Some differences in the hematological variables of swimmers were not due to RJ supplementation |
Ovchinnikov and Deryugina, (2020), Russia | N: 40 Sex: Male Groups: 2 Age: 16-20 years |
a) Correlation between the physiological and biochemical indicators affected by RJ and CoQ10 supplementation b) Effectiveness of functional test execution by highly qualified athletes affected by RJ and CoQ10 supplementation |
Intervention: 0.4 g of RJ+0.06 g of Q10/d+9.54 g of honey Placebo: 10 g of honey/d Not mentioned |
10 days Series of segments 4×50 m covered using the main stroke with 45 s of rest in between |
-Increase: Vagosympathetic interaction index, centralization index, vegetative balance index, vegetative rhythm index, tension index, SB/(DC+ TC), dienoic conjugates, trienoic conjugates, and Schiff base rates | The co-use of RJ and CoQ10 enhances control exercise effectiveness by improving heart rate variability and reducing hyperlactatemia |
Ovchinnikov et al. (2022b), Russia | N: 20 Sex: Male Groups: 2 Age: Intervention group: 19.30±1.34 years Placebo group: 19.60±1.43 years |
Effect of RJ and CoQ10 on HIIE performance | 0.4 g of RJ+0.06 g of CoQ10 a day Blood and saliva |
10 days 4 sets of 50 m distance (in their preferred swimming style at the maximum possible speed interspersed with 45 s of recovery periods) |
-Increase: Plasmatic DC, SB, and CK and HIIE performance -Decrease: Salivary DC, SB, and CK; muscle damage; lipid peroxidation |
CoQ10 and RJ co-supplementation could statistically significantly reduce muscle damage and lipid peroxidation and improve HIIE performance |
Runners | ||||||
Saritaş et al. (2017), Türkiye | N: 29 Intervention group: 15 Placebo group: 14 Sex: Male Groups: 2 Age: Intervention group: 22 years (21-22.25 years) Placebo group: 23 years (21-24 years) |
Effect of RJ and honey mixture on hematological parameters in maximum weight training runners | Intervention group: 5 g of RJ+45 g of honey mixture per day Placebo group: 50 g of corn starch per day Blood |
8 weeks Running and straining stretching motions |
-Increase: WBC -Decrease: Thrombolytic parameters; PLT, MPV, PCT, and PDW -No change: MCV, MCH, and MCHC |
Supplementation with RJ and honey mixture did not affect hematological parameters |
Büyükipekçi et al. (2018), Türkiye | N: 29 Intervention group: 14 Placebo group: 15 Sex: Male Groups: 2 Age: 20-25 years |
Effects of RJ and honey mixture on some hormones | Intervention: 5 g of RJ+45 g of honey mixture Placebo: Corn starch Blood |
4 and 8 weeks Running and stretching exercises+weight training sets |
-No change: Weight-lifted performance-free T3, cortisol, insulin, total testosterone, ACTH, TSH, growth hormone, prolactin, FSH, and LH -Decrease: Free T4 (FT4) |
Supplementation had no impact on weight lifting but decreased FT4 (P=0.03) |
Aly et al. (2019), Egypt | N: 50 Sex: Male Groups: 2 Age: Intervention group: 20.80±0.92 years Placebo group: 20.77±0.57 years |
Effect of honey formula on delaying some fatigue markers in 1,500-m runners | 50 g of honey+0.5 g of RJ+0.5 g of bee pollen Blood |
1 week | -Increase: LDH, delaying some fatigue markers -Decrease: Blood glucose -No change: Systolic BP, diastolic BP, CK-MB, pulse, and running performance |
The administration of honey, RJ, and bee pollen had no impact on fatigue-delaying markers |
Ovchinnikov et al. (2022a), Russia | N: 30 Sex: Male Groups: 2 Age: 19±1 years |
Effect of RJ and CoQ10 on HIIE performance | 0.4 g of RJ+0.06 g of CoQ10 Blood |
10 days 3 repetitions of 100 m distance at maximum possible speed interspersed with 45 s of recovery periods |
-Increase: HRV variables (SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, HF, LF, and VLF), HIIE performance, and prolonged sympathetic dominance -Decrease: Lactate level |
Running enhanced the HIIE performance with modulation of sympathetic dominance, cardiac autonomic regulation, and blood lactate concentration |
Football players | ||||||
Joksimović et al. (2009), Serbia | N: 25 Intervention group: 15 Placebo group: 10 Sex: Male Groups: 2 Age: 12 years |
Effect of RJ on young football players | 0.5, 1, and 2 g of RJ/d Not mentioned |
8 weeks All examiners were exposed to regular training 4 times a week |
-Increase: body height, muscle mass, circumference above the knee, and circumference of the lower leg -Decrease: Fat component -No effect: Body mass and bone component |
The administration of RJ had favorable effects on the anthropometric parameters of teenagers |
1)Median (percentile, 25%-75%).
RJ, royal jelly; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; CK, creatine kinase; AST, aspartate transferase; ALT, alanine transaminase; MCV, mean red cell volume; MCH, mean cell hemoglobin; MCHC, mean cell hemoglobin concentration; EO, eosinophil; PLT, platelet; MPV, mean platelet volume; PCT, procalcitonin; PDW, platelet distribution width; HCT, hematocrit; CHCM, cellular hemoglobin concentration mean; CH, cellular hemoglobin; HDW, hemoglobin concentration distribution width; WBC, white blood cell; BA, basophil; LY, lymphocyte; BMI, body mass index; CoQ10, coenzyme Q10; HIIE, high-intensity interval exercise; DC, dienoic conjugates; TC, trienoic conjugates; SB, Schiff bases; T3, triiodothyronine; ACTH, adrenocorticotropic hormone; TSH, thyroid-stimulating hormone; FSH, follicle-stimulating hormone; LH, luteinizing hormone; T4, thyroxine; BP, blood pressure; CK-MB, creatine kinase-MB; HRV, heart rate variability; SDNN, standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals; RMSSD, root mean square of successive RR intervals differences; RRNN, mean RR normal-to-normal intervals; pNN50, percentage of successive RR intervals that differ by more than 50 ms; HF, absolute power of the high-frequency band; LF, absolute power of the low-frequency band; VLF, absolute power of the very-low-frequency band.