Honey Bee Products Potent in Cancer Prevention, Treatment

ZAGREB, Croatia, December 7, 2004 (ENS) - Eating honey and other bee products may prevent cancer or slow it down, a newly published scientific study shows. Honey bee products decreased the growth or spread of cancerous tumors in mice, according to research by a University of Zagreb team.

Natural honey bee products such as royal jelly, honey, propolis, caffeic acid, and bee venom may have applications both in cancer treatment and in prevention, the Croatian researchers found.

Honey has been found to be valuable in combatting cancer. (Photo by Scott Bauer courtesy USDA)

In the prevention studies, the products were administered before the mice were inoculated with tumor cells. In the curative studies, the products were administered after tumor inoculation.

“The effects of the tested compounds were demonstrated either by inhibition of tumor growth or metastases [secondary tumor] formation and by increased survival of the animals,” said Dr. Orsolic.

Honey inhibited the spread of tumors when applied before tumor cell inoculation in the lungs. Simultaneous inoculation with royal jelly and tumor cells significantly inhibited tumour spread.

When bee venom was injected into the tumors, they shrank, and the delay of tumor growth was evident. Mice treated with bee venom survived much longer than control mice, Dr. Orsolic said.

The way bee products work to combat the tumors is still unclear, but the authors suggest the substances cause the cancerous cells to self-destruct in a process known as apoptosis, or to die by necrosis, the name given to the unprogrammed death of cells.

Alternatively, the authors speculate, the bee products may be toxic to the cancer cells, or they may be capable of modifying or regulating the body's immune functions.

A honey bee finds food on a Los Angeles flower. (Photo courtesy Los Angeles County)

Propolis or caffeic acid reduced subcutaneous tumor growth and prolonged the survival of mice.

Propolis, the gluey resinous substance honeybees manufacture from plant resins, possesses anti-microbial and anti-viral properties as well as being an anti-inflammatory with biological activities to repel tumors and stimulate the immune system.

Over 180 compounds have been found in propolis, including esters of caffeic acid. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is the anti-tumor substance from propolis that has been studied the most.

Its anti-tumor properties were first discovered in a 1988 study of propolis by Dr. Koji Nakanishi at Columbia University, in which CAPE was found to inhibit human breast carcinoma and melanoma cell lines in culture. The cancer fighting properties of propolis have been confirmed in numerous other studies since then.

The Croatian authors conclude that the intake of honey bee products "could be advantageous" in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

“These results suggest the benefits of potential clinical trials using propolis or honey, combined with chemotherapeutic agents,” said Dr. Orsolic.