What randomized clinical trials have tested honey or cinnamon for mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease?
Executive summary
Randomized controlled trials specifically testing honey for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease do not exist in the published literature [1]. Cinnamon has been evaluated in a tiny clinical literature on cognition — systematic reviews describe two human clinical studies with mixed results, but there is no clear body of well-powered, high-quality randomized trials showing benefit for MCI or Alzheimer’s [2] [3] [4].
1. What human randomized clinical trials tested cinnamon for MCI or Alzheimer’s — the short read
Systematic reviews and narrative reviews of cinnamon and cognition report that only two clinical studies addressed cognitive outcomes in people, one showing positive effects and one showing no change, but they emphasize that clinical evidence is extremely limited and inconsistent and do not identify a suite of randomized, large-scale RCTs for MCI or Alzheimer’s disease [2] [5] [3]. Major reviewers note that most cinnamon clinical trials historically have targeted metabolic outcomes (blood glucose) rather than cognitive endpoints, and that no human trial evidence supports cinnamon’s ability to prevent or delay dementia [4] [6].
2. What human randomized clinical trials tested honey for MCI or Alzheimer’s — the short read
Comprehensive recent reviews of honey and Alzheimer’s disease find many promising preclinical (animal and cell) studies but explicitly report a stark absence of human clinical trials testing honey for Alzheimer’s or MCI; reviewers call for human trials to establish dosing, quality standards and clinical effect [1]. In short, there are zero published randomized clinical trials of honey for MCI or Alzheimer’s disease in the sources provided [1].
3. Why the clinical record is thin: study design, endpoints and translational gaps
The cinnamon literature is dominated by preclinical mechanistic studies demonstrating effects on amyloid, tau, oxidative stress and neuroinflammation and by small human trials focused on metabolic endpoints; reviewers repeatedly flag heterogeneity in cinnamon species, preparation, dose, duration, and outcome measures as barriers to clear translation to dementia care [7] [4] [8]. Reviews that pooled evidence found one small clinical study with positive cognitive signals and another null study, but they underline that prospective randomized controlled trials powered for cognitive endpoints are still pending [2] [3]. For honey, systematic reviews of dozens of preclinical studies highlight antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms relevant to Alzheimer’s but underscore that the animal-to-human evidence chain is incomplete and that no clinical trials in people have been reported [1].
4. How trustworthy are claims about cinnamon or honey improving dementia?
Popular or institutional summaries that celebrate cinnamon’s or honey’s potential are rooted in laboratory and animal science and small, inconsistent human studies, not in definitive randomized trials [4] [2] [1]. Expert sources — including the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s cognitive-vitality review and systematic literature searches — explicitly state that cinnamon research in humans is extremely limited and that no human data support cinnamon’s ability to delay or prevent dementia [4]. Likewise, recent reviews of honey-to-Alzheimer’s research conclude that despite promising mechanisms, human evidence is absent and clinical trials are needed before any therapeutic claims can be made [1].
5. What’s needed next and what to watch for
The literature’s consensus is clear: move from cell and animal studies to well-designed randomized, placebo-controlled trials in human populations with standardized preparations, clear dosing and clinically meaningful cognitive endpoints; reviewers call for larger, longer trials to resolve mixed early signals for cinnamon and to evaluate honey at human-relevant doses and standardized product quality [3] [2] [1]. Until such RCT evidence appears, claims that cinnamon or honey can treat or prevent MCI or Alzheimer’s remain speculative and rooted in preclinical promise rather than randomized clinical proof [4] [1].