Abstract
Background: Hepatitis C is an infectious disease that affects the liver. Its complication
is a major high-risk group that may be lead to hepatocellular carcinoma HCC, so
natural prevention is required. The combination of magic fruit and honey bee was
used in the treatment of HCV patients were treated with 4 g from Magic fruit and
1 g from Honey bee 3 times daily for three months.
Methods and findings: Our group study was conducted on 50 patients with chronic
hepatitis C (the male number was 35 while the female was 15; the median age was
45 years) was taken from the outpatient clinics of NCI, Egypt.
Results: The mean values of virus C level, which was determined by real time PCR
and FoxP3 protein which was measured by ELISA in sera of patients with chronic
hepatitis infection (CHI), showed highly significant decrease after treatment.
Hence the results have shown improvements in liver function, kidney function,
and CBC tests for the HCV patients post-treatment. Moreover, the results revealed
also that, highly significant decreased of CD4 + CD25 expression by flow cytometric
analysis was observed in the mononuclear leukocytes isolated from the patients
after treatment.
Conclusion: A combination of magic fruit and honey bee could be useful protective
natural agents against human hepatocarcinogenesis induced by HCV infection.
Further study is strongly recommended for large populations and prolonged
treatment for 9-12 months.
Keywords: Magic fruit; Honey bee; Chronic HCV infection; HCV-RNA PCR
(quantitative); FoxP3; CD4+CD25+expression