_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: E-mail: bu.ononye@unizik.edu.ng; Annual Research & Review in Biology 37(3): 41-48, 2022; Article no.ARRB.84971 ISSN: 2347-565X, NLM ID: 101632869 Growth Performance of Albino Rats Orally Administered with Honey from Apis mellifera adansonii and Refined Sugar at Varying Levels B. U. Ononye a* , C. R. Kalu a , T. E. Okeke b , C. E. Akunne a , K. C. Onyewuchi c , K. P. Okafor a , C. A. Chidi a , K. M. Ugonkwo c , O. C. Ekwebene d , C. A. Okoli e , A. U. Akpan f , V. O. Offor a and D. E. Oboho f a Department of Zoology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. b Department of Biology, Alex Ekwueme, Federal University Ndufu-Aliko Ikwo, Ebonyi, Nigeria. c Department of Applied Biochemistry, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. d Faculty of Medicine, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. e School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China. f Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria. Authors’ contributions This work was carried out in collaboration among all authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Article Information DOI: 10.9734/ARRB/2022/v37i330496 Open Peer Review History: This journal follows the Advanced Open Peer Review policy. Identity of the Reviewers, Editor(s) and additional Reviewers, peer review comments, different versions of the manuscript, comments of the editors, etc are available here: https://www.sdiarticle5.com/review-history/84971 Received 12 January 2022 Accepted 20 March 2022 Published 18 April 2022 ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to find out the growth performance of albino rats orally administered with honey from Apis mellifera adansonii and refined granulated sugar at varying quantities. Twenty-five (25) healthy albino rats used in the study were grouped into five treatments based on the dose of natural honey and granulated sugar as follow: T1 (1.02g of honey kg BW), T2 (1.40g of honey kg BW), T3 (1.02g of granulated sugar kg BW), and T4 (1.40g of granulated sugar kg BW). However, rats in T5 were not administered honey and refined granulated sugar hence served as the control. The data on fructose and micronutrients concentrations of natural honey and refined sugar as well as data on the weight gain and feed intake of the albino rats were determined after 28 days. According to the findings of this study, the fructose concentration was higher in natural honey (195.78mg/ml) while refined sugar (30.225mg/ml) recorded the least value. Also, copper (0.15ppm) and manganese (0.05ppm) had the highest mean concentration in natural honey, while iron (0.04ppm) and zinc (0.07ppm) were higher in refined sugar. The study's findings revealed Original Research Article