Use of Propolis in Cancer Research
P. Vit1,2,3*, F. Huq2, O. M. Barth4, M. Campo5, E. M. Pérez-Pérez6, F. A. Tomás-Barberán7 and E. L. Santos8
1Agrarian and Livestock Research Center, Academic Unit of Agrarian and Livestock Sciences, Universidad Técnica de Machala, Machala, El Oro Province, Ecuador. 2Biomedical Science Cancer Research Network, Discipline of Biomedical Science, University of Sydney, 75 East Street, Lidcombe, NSW 1825, Australia. 3Apitherapy and Bioactivity, Food Science Department, Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. 4Laboratory of Morfology and Viral Morfogenesis, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 5Academic Unit of Chemical Science and Health, Universidad Técnica de Machala, Machala, El Oro province, Ecuador. 6Laboratory of Biotechnological and Molecular Analysis, Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. 7Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS (CSIC), P.O.Box 164, 30100, Campus Espinardo, Murcia, Spain. 8Environmental and Biological Science, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Rodovia Dourados Ithaum, Km 12, 79804-970 Dourados, MS, Brazil.
Authors’ contributions
This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Authors PV and FH designed, outlined the review and the anticancer uses of propolis. Author OMB contributed to the botanical origin of propolis and is author of the pollen images, author MC the chemical composition and table, author EMPP organized the tumor microenvironment, author FATB reviewed the flavonoids, and author ELS the immune response. Author FH assessed the English style. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Article Information
DOI: 10.9734/BJMMR/2015/16216
Editor(s):
(1) Mahin Khatami, National Cancer Institute (ret.), The National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Reviewers:
(1) Anonymous, Italy. (2) Kwang-Huei Lin, Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Chang-Gung University, Taiwan. (3) Anonymous, Japan. Complete Peer review History: http://www.sciencedomain.org/review-history.php?iid=1114&id=12&aid=8888
ABSTRACT
Interest to develop new anticancer drugs and to design combination treatments with little or no secondary effects provides new scope for traditional phytochemicals in chemoprevention and therapy. Propolis is a known source of polyphenols, and flavonoids found in them have been widely studied as biochemical markers for botanical origin and in explaining their antioxidant capacity as a key factor in chemoprevention. Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer biological activities of propolis are known. Studies of cancer cells to measure the anticancer effect of propolis are designed with one carefully chosen component, and with extracts applied to cells in culture media. The antitumor effect of propolis and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), bioactive compound of propolis extract, is seen to be associated with its ability to initiate apoptosis of cancer cells. Chrysin is a flavonoid of interest to identify signaling molecules related to cancer. As cancer cells develop multidrug resistance (MDR) during chemotherapy, this opens a new avenue of research on cellular mechanisms of propolis components in combined treatments designed to overcome MDR.
* THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.