Antitumor Activity of Propolis: Recent Advances in Cellular Perspectives, Animal Models and Possible Applications

Anticancer Activity of Propolis and Its Compounds

“…It is currently assumed that propolis and its components are reported to modulate cell cycle regulators like cyclin D, cyclin-dependent kinases Cdk-2/4/6, and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, thereby arresting the progression of the cancer cell cycle (G2/M phase), as well as in stage G0/G1, by upregulating p21 and p27 expression [ 49 , 63 , 66 ]. Ethanol-extracted Cameroonian propolis increased the amount of DU145 and PC3 cells in G0/G1 phase, down-regulated cell cycle proteins (CDK1, pCDK1, and their related cyclins A and B) in both DU145 and PC3 cells, and CDK2 and pCDK2 proteins were down-regulated only in PC3 cells [ 67 ].…”

“…It has pro-apoptotic activity through the caspase-3/7 pathway. CAPE significantly increased apoptosis mediated by TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis ligand inducer) by positive regulation of DR5 (death receptor 5) mediated by CHOP (C/EBP family transcription factor) [ 36 , 38 , 49 , 63 ]. CAPE also affects the apoptotic intrinsic pathway by increasing ROS production and also decreases expression of apoptosis inhibitors such as transporter associated with antigen processing 1 (cTAP-1), baculoviral IAP repeat-containing protein3 (cIAP-2), and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) [ 3 , 63 ].…”

“…It has been suggested that the anti-angiogenic activity of propolis concerns the downregulation of the activity of cell signaling pathways mediated by Jun N-terminal kinase, ERK1/2, NF-kB, Akt, and PAK1. It should be added that propolis is a source of PKA1 inhibitors such as nymphaeols A and C, frondoside A, and artepillin C [ 49 , 63 , 118 ].…”

Stingless Bee Propolis: New Insights for Anticancer Drugs

“…In this context, research on the development of new anticancer drugs has not been limited only to plant substances or molecules. Researchers have investigated the anticancer potential of compounds produced by endophytic fungi [ 11 ], wasp venom peptides [ 12 ], and ant venom [ 13 ], as well as natural products from different bee species, such as honey [ 14 , 15 ] and propolis [ 16 , 17 ].…”

“…Among bee products, the propolis produced by the species Apis mellifera (Apidae, Apinae) has been extensively studied [ 18 – 20 ] as an antioxidant [ 21 , 22 ], immunomodulatory agent [ 23 , 24 ], and antimicrobial agent [ 25 , 26 ] and mainly used in the prevention and treatment of cancer [ 17 , 27 – 30 ]. In a search conducted on August 15, 2021, in the PubMed database of the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) using the terms “Apis propolis” and “Stingless Bee propolis,” 719 studies were found on the bee propolis of A. mellifera , while only 86 studies involved propolis from stingless bees [ 31 ], also known as meliponines since they belong to the subfamily Meliponini of the family Apidae [ 32 ].…”