Given the components of honeybee products that possess anti-disease activity and high healing capabilities in their composition, many consumers of honeybee products wonder about the possibility of using honeybee products in treating cancerous diseases, by asking some questions.
- Do honeybee products have the ability to treat cancer?
- Which honeybee products have this property in treating cancer?
- Is it an effective treatment on its own, or an adjunct to other therapeutic methods?
- Does the regular use of honeybee products have a protective effect against cancer?
Peptides from bee products induce cell death in vitro in several mutated human (cancer) cell lines, including those derived from kidney, lung, liver, prostate, bladder, and lymphoma cancers. Therefore, these naturally occurring, bioactive products may be beneficial as part of a novel targeted therapy for certain cancers, such as prostate and breast cancer. Over the past two decades, simple compounds and polyphenolic compounds, as well as peptides from bee products, have begun to attract increasing attention for their potential use in cancer treatment. This review aims to summarize the anticancer activity of bee products.
We will be discussing a series of articles from the Fakhd Al-Qanoun store for the production of natural honey, each about a honeybee product and its anti-cancer activity.
First: Honey and Cancer
It can be said that treating cancer with honey is possible for some people, but not for everyone, and this is due to the nature of the body, the type of tumor, and the stages that the cancerous tumor has reached.
Things that explain how to prevent and treat cancer with honey
The ability of honey compounds to prevent and treat cancer comes from their ability to produce the following effects in the body:
- Increased production of antioxidants
- Boosting the body's immunity
Among the various types of phytochemicals found in honey, the phenolic and flavonoid content is relatively high, consisting of simple compounds and polyphenols such as acacetin, apigenin, caffeic acid, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), chrysin, galangin, kaempferol, pinocembrin, pinobanksin, and quercetin, which contribute to its antioxidant activity.
Flavonoids typically possess anticancer properties due to their antioxidant activity and also their related ability to alter several signaling pathways, including the stimulation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and cell cycle regulation.
Regarding the mechanisms by which honey reduces tumor proliferation by enhancing the immune response against cancer cells, honey increases the production of interleukin-1b (IL)-1b, IL-6, and TNF-α in human monocytes, and increases the antibodies of the secondary immune response. The following is a summary of an important scientific study that clarifies how honey contributes to the treatment of certain types of cancer:
By stimulating the death of abnormally grown cells, this death must occur regularly and in three stages:
- The induction phase: This is a phase during which signals from the cell are converted into signals that prompt the brain to get rid of them.
- The responder phase: This is a phase during which cancer cells are killed by a key regulator, namely the body's resistance and the treatment provided by doctors.
- The degeneration stage: This is a stage in which the mitochondria break down the cancer cell to rid the body of it.
Honey contributes to programmed cell death in cancer cells, and this is achieved through the ability of honey compounds to induce the following changes in the tumor:
- Honey compounds depolarize mitochondria, reducing cancer cells' energy consumption and thus stimulating their death.
- Honey compounds increase the activation level of caspase 3, as well as the level of polyribose polymerase cleavage (PARP), especially in colon cancer cells, as the study mentioned. These compounds play a role in promoting the programmed cell death cascade of cancer cells.
- Honey compounds induce cancer cell death by modifying the proteins present in them.
- Honey cannot be considered the sole treatment for cancer, medically or scientifically. It is helpful in some cases but not a complete cure. However, its effective preventative role against many diseases, including cancer, is undeniable.
A study on the effects of Saudi Sidr honey against certain types of cancer
In Vitro Antiproliferative Apoptosis Induction and Cell Cycle Arrest Potential of Saudi Sidr Honey against Colorectal Cancer
Induction of antiproliferative programmed cell death in vitro and cell cycle arrest: Potential of Saudi Sidr honey against colorectal cancer
Saudi Sidr honey has been studied for its potential to chemoprevent cancer, including its ability to inhibit growth and induce apoptosis. Sidr honey is derived from the Sidr tree. In the current study, Saudi Sidr honey was analyzed, and its antiproliferative effects on colorectal, breast, and lung cancer cells were investigated, along with its apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest potential. Overall, the results of this study indicate that Saudi Sidr honey is capable of inhibiting growth, inducing apoptosis, and halting the cell cycle in cancer cells. These findings are particularly compelling because they suggest that Saudi Sidr honey may contain bioactive compounds exhibiting anticancer properties that warrant further isolation and characterization.
