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.

Geopropolis is produced by some stingless bee species, such as Melipona fasciculata Smith, a native species from Brazil. This study aims to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and cytotoxicity effects of geopropolis hydroethanolic extracts against lung (H460 and A549) and ovarian (A2780 and ES2) cancer cell lines and non-tumor (HUVEC) cell lines using chemical identification by LC/MS/MS analysis and in silico assays to determine which compounds are associated with bioactivity. The antioxidant activity of extracts and inhibitory activity against COX enzymes were assessed by in vitro assays; cytotoxicity effect was evaluated by the MTT assay; cell cycle was assessed by flow cytometry and apoptosis by Western blotting. The geopropolis extracts showed great radical scavenging potential, preferential inhibition of COX-2, decreased cancer cell viability, non-cytotoxic effects against the non-tumoral cell line, besides modulating the cell cycle and inducing cancer cell apoptosis through the activation of caspase-3 and PARP protein cleavage. The in silico study suggests that corilagin, typhaneoside, taraxerone and marsformosanone, identified by LC/MS/MS, can be associated with anti-inflammatory activity and cytotoxic effects. Thus, the current study suggests the potential of geopropolis concerning the research field of new pharmacological alternatives regarding cancer therapy.

A espécie Lafoensia pacari A. St.-Hil (Lythraceae) é uma planta do cerrado brasileiro, encontrada na Bahia, Goiás e Maranhão. Empregada popularmente para problemas gástricos e inflamação, conhecida por mangava brava, dedaleiro e pacari. O objetivo do trabalho foi determinar a concentração de compostos fenólicos e avaliar a atividade antioxidante no extrato hidroalcoólico a 70% e frações. A planta foi coletada no município de Estreito-MA, das folhas secas foi obtido o extrato hidroalcoólico a 70% e separadas frações pelos solventes hexano, clorofórmio, acetato de etila e metanol. Do extrato foram determinadas as concentrações de fenóis (reagente Folin-Ciocalteau), flavonóides (reação com cloreto de alumínio), ácidos fenólicos (diferença entre as quantidades dosadas de fenóis e flavonóides) e avaliação da atividade antioxidante pelo método in vitro 2,2-difenil-1-picril-hidrazila (DPPH). Os resultados demonstraram que o extrato bruto, a fração acetato de etila e metanólica apresentaram teores altos de compostos fenólicos e uma boa atividade antioxidante para o extrato metanólico uma vez que o valor de CE50 foi de 19,69 ?g/mL. Estes resultados caracterizam a L. pacari como matéria-prima natural com ação antioxidante, podendo esta atividade estar relacionada à presença de constituintes fenólicos, que são substâncias com este potencial.

Melipona fasciculata Smith, native to Maranhão, is a stingless bee that produces honey, wax and geopropolis, which is made up of resinous material collected from plants, salivary secretions, wax and clay or earth. One species is widely cultivated in the state of Maranhão, mainly in the Baixada and Cerrado regions, commercially created in groups of colonies, called meliponários, that produce a meliponicultura. Studies show that a geopropolis has biological activities such as antimicrobial, leishmanicidal, antioxidant, anthelmintic, antiproliferative, showing to be a promising natural product for further research. Thus, the article aims to verify the chemical profile of the geographic extracts of the Melipona fasciculated Smith and to investigate the toxicity of the extracts against the zebrafish model. As samples collected directly from meliponary hives in the municipality of Pinheiro and Viana, in the state of Maranhão. They were dried, selected, extracted by maceration with 70% ethyl alcohol for 48 hours, obtaining as extractive solutions, which were filtered and concentrated in the rotary and lyophilized evaporator, obtaining the EHGP and EHGV. The chemical composition was

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