Use of Propolis in Cancer Research
P. Vit *
Agrarian and Livestock Research Center, Academic Unit of Agrarian and Livestock Sciences, Universidad Técnica de Machala, Machala, El Oro Province, Ecuador and Biomedical Science Cancer Research Network, Discipline of Biomedical Science, University of Sydney, 75 East Street, Lidcombe, NSW 1825, Australia and Apitherapy and Bioactivity, Food Science Department, Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela.
F. Huq
Biomedical Science Cancer Research Network, Discipline of Biomedical Science, University of Sydney, 75 East Street, Lidcombe, NSW 1825, Australia.
O. M. Barth
Laboratory of Morfology and Viral Morfogenesis, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
M. Campo
Academic Unit of Chemical Science and Health, Universidad Técnica de Machala, Machala, El Oro province, Ecuador.
E. M. Pérez-Pérez
Laboratory of Biotechnological and Molecular Analysis, Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela.
F. A. Tomás-Barberán
Research 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.
E. L. Santos
Environmental and Biological Science, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Rodovia Dourados Ithaum, Km 12, 79804-970 Dourados, MS, Brazil.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
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.
Keywords: Anticancer, anti-inflammatory, apoptosis, CAPE, chrysin, cancer, flavonoids, MDR, prevention, phenolics