Honey and Reproductive Health: What Does the Research Show?
3 min read · Published August 18, 2026
Not "natural viagra" — a real but limited area of research
One of the more exaggerated claims about honey online concerns sexual and reproductive health. The truth is that the relationship between honey and the reproductive system is genuinely studied in the scientific literature — but most of that research is done in animal models, and the number of controlled human trials remains small. This article covers research on both male and female reproductive health without hiding the evidence level behind each claim.
Male reproductive health: a systematic review on testosterone
A 2019 systematic review searched the PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases from May 1993 through April 2019 using the keywords "honey"/"honeybee" and "testosterone" to bring together the existing literature. Its conclusion: the collected evidence — which is mainly based on in vivo (living organism, mostly rodent) studies — shows that oral administration of honey increases serum testosterone levels in males.
The review also discusses the plausible mechanisms behind this effect: increased luteinizing hormone production, improved viability of Leydig cells (the testosterone-producing cells in the testes), reduced oxidative damage to those cells, increased expression of the steroidogenesis-related StAR gene, and inhibition of aromatase (the enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen) in testicular tissue. These are plausible, biologically coherent mechanisms — but with an important caveat: in the author's own words, further research, primarily human clinical trials, is still needed to confirm this effect in people.
Male reproductive health: an actual human trial
Beyond the animal studies, a 2014 open-label (no placebo control) randomized controlled trial split 66 oligospermic (low sperm count) men into two groups: one taking 20 grams of Tualang honey daily for 12 weeks (n=34), the other taking 750 mg of Tribestan — a known herbal fertility supplement — daily (n=32). The study measured sperm concentration, motility, morphology, erectile function (via the IIEF-5 questionnaire), and hormone profiles (testosterone, FSH, LH).
Result: both groups showed statistically significant improvement in sperm parameters compared to baseline (in the honey group: concentration p<0.001, motility p=0.015, morphology p=0.008). But when the two groups were compared against each other, no significant difference was found in sperm parameters, erectile function, or hormone profiles — meaning honey performed comparably to, not better or worse than, an established fertility supplement. No adverse events were reported. An important limitation: this trial was open-label with no placebo arm, which doesn't rule out that some of the observed improvement came from a placebo effect.
İlyas Kurt Editor's Note
This is one of the more sensitive topics we cover on this journal — which is exactly why we took care to label every finding by which type of study it came from. Honey's real interest here is the same as everywhere else on this journal: show the evidence as it is, without inflating the claim.
Sources
Every claim above draws on the sources below. Where the evidence is limited or preliminary, we've said so.
Comparison on the Effects and Safety of Tualang Honey and Tribestan in Sperm Parameters, Erectile Function, and Hormonal Profiles among Oligospermic Males
Ismail SB, Bakar MB, Nik Hussain NH, Norhayati MN, Sulaiman SA, Jaafar H — Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2014
Study type: Open-label randomized controlled trial (human, n=66)
Key finding: In oligospermic men, 20g of Tualang honey daily for 12 weeks significantly improved sperm concentration, motility, and morphology, but showed no significant difference versus Tribestan, an established herbal fertility supplement.
Limitations: The open-label design and lack of a placebo arm don't rule out that part of the observed improvement came from a placebo effect; the sample was limited to 66 participants.
Mechanisms of honey on testosterone levels
Banihani SA — Heliyon, 2019
Study type: Systematic review (mainly animal/in vivo studies)
Key finding: Reviewing PubMed/Scopus/Embase literature from 1993-2019, finds evidence that oral honey intake raises serum testosterone in males and summarizes plausible mechanisms (raised LH, Leydig cell protection, aromatase inhibition).
Limitations: By the author's own account, evidence is mainly based on in vivo/animal studies; confirmatory human clinical trials are explicitly stated as needed.
