1. Academic Validation
  2. From the hive: Honey, a novel weapon against cancer

From the hive: Honey, a novel weapon against cancer

  • Eur J Med Chem. 2017 Dec 15:142:290-299. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.07.064.
Mariateresa Badolato 1 Gabriele Carullo 1 Erika Cione 1 Francesca Aiello 2 Maria Cristina Caroleo 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria- Edificio Polifunzionale, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy.
  • 2 Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria- Edificio Polifunzionale, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy. Electronic address: francesca.aiello@unical.it.
Abstract

Nowadays there is a folk medicine branch called apitherapy that aims to treat diseases with bee products, including honey. Honey has long been known for its medicinal and health promoting properties. It encloses numerous types of phytochemicals with high phenolic and flavonoid content, which contribute to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Varieties and variants of Polyphenols in honey showed antiproliferative property against several types of Cancer. This review focuses on the latest discoveries about the key role of honey in different stages of carcinogenesis, initiation, proliferation and progression, both in vitro and in vivo, as well as on its Adjuvant effect in Cancer therapy. Although a possible application of honey and its active compounds as drugs against Cancer is still far away from clinical practice, scientific results highlight that they could be used as immune booster for patients undergoing chemotherapy. They showed protective effects against the common exasperating and disabling side effects, mostly mucositis.

Keywords

Cancer therapy; Chemoprevention; Honey.

Figures