Effects of Honey (Apis mellifera and Apis cerana Species) Supplementation on Reducing Blood Lactate Concentration in Futsal Athletes

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to examine whether 6-week daily consumption of honey from Apis mellifera and Apis cerana species would affect performance and reduce blood lactate in futsal athletes.Subjects and Methods. In this study, 30 male futsal athletes volunteered to be subjects. A group of 15 futsal athletes volunteered for random blind assignment to either an Apis mellifera honey (AM) group or an Apis cerana honey (AC) group. Each group completed tests pre- and post-supplementation for 20 m sprint test and agility t-test. Additionally, blood lactate was measured before and immediately after the tests.Results. Independent t-test revealed significant changes from before to after supplementation in the AC group (p=0.009) for lactate post. Conversely, independent t-test revealed no significant changes in the AM group (p=0.698) for lactate post. Regarding 20 m sprint performance, there were statistically significant differences for time (p=0.036) and group main effects (p=0.009). Specifically, independent t-test showed significant changes from before to after supplementation just in the AC group (p=0.018). For the t-test, independent t-test revealed significant changes from before to after supplementation in the AC group (p=0.013).Conclusions. We demonstrated that 1.14 g/kg of Apis cerana honey given once a day at breakfast for 6 weeks is more effective in reducing blood lactate concentration and enhancing agility t-test performance than 1.14 g/kg of Apis mellifera honey in futsal athletes.