Abstract
Cancer is one of the major maladies affecting humankind and remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The investigation of the biological activities of stingless bee products, especially propolis and geopropolis, has revealed promising therapeutic properties, especially in the research on new antineoplastic agents. This literature review of preclinical trials, involving biological assays of antitumor activity and identification of the chemical composition of propolis and geopropolis of stingless bee species, describes the cytotoxicity in tumor lineages (breast, lung, ovarian, liver, mouth, pharynx, larynx, colon, stomach, colorectal, cervix, kidney, prostate, melanoma, human glioblastoma, canine osteosarcoma, erythroleukemia, human chronic myelocytic leukemia, and human promyelocytic leukemia) of propolis and geopropolis of 33 species of stingless bees. The chemical composition of propolis and geopropolis was identified, indicating that these belong to the chemical classes of phenolic acids, flavonoids, coumarins, benzophenones, anthraquinones, alkaloids, terpenes, steroids, saponins, fatty acids, and carbohydrates and are possibly responsible for the cytotoxicity in tumor cells. Apoptosis was one of the main mechanisms of cytotoxicity of extracts and substances isolated from stingless bee products. Although the results found are encouraging, other preclinical studies and clinical trials are essential for the discovery of new anticancer agents.
Highlights
These stingless bee products have already been tested in many tumor models of head and neck, lung, liver, pancreas, kidney, prostate, skin, breast, gastric, and colon cancer, the results of which suggest the potential use of these natural compounds as part of complementary medical treatment of human tumors [17,24,26,27]
Bonamigo et al [31] observed the in vitro cytotoxic activity of ethanolic propolis extracts of Scaptotrigona depilis and Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides against erythroleukemia cells (K562) as the concentration increased with cell growth of 32.6% ± 3.2% and 21.2% ± 4.1%, respectively
Utispan et al [36] evaluated the in vitro cytotoxicity of three fractions derived from the dichloromethane propolis extract produced by Trigona sirindhornae against cell lines derived from primary pharyngeal lesions (HN30) and lymph node metastases (HN31), both from the same patient
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Meliponines make great contribution to environmental conservation, as they perform pollination of native plant species and contribute to a reduction in deforestation and environmental damage [4,7] They are commercially known for their role in the production of natural products, such as honey, wax, royal jelly, propolis, and geopropolis and accumulation of pollen [3,4,8,9]. The evaluation of the antitumor activity of propolis and geopropolis has been the object of research in several study groups These stingless bee products have already been tested in many tumor models of head and neck, lung, liver, pancreas, kidney, prostate, skin, breast, gastric, and colon cancer, the results of which suggest the potential use of these natural compounds as part of complementary medical treatment of human tumors [17,24,26,27]. Considering the importance of natural products for the development of antineoplastic drugs, the present study conducted a literature review of studies of the effect of propolis and geopropolis produced by species of stingless bees against different tumor lineages and the identification of their chemical compounds responsible for the biological activity
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