Rose Bee Pollen Has Antitumor Activity

Antitumor Activity of Bee Pollen Polysaccharides from Rosa rugosa

Mol Med Rep, 2013 Mar 20

In the present study, bee pollen polysaccharides from Rosa rugosa (WRPP) were extracted and fractionated. WRPP were purified to neutral (WRPP-N) and acidic polysaccharides (WRPP-1, WRPP-2) with DEAE-Cellulose.

WRPP-N were mainly composed of glucose, mannose, arabinose and galactose, indicating the existence of glucan, arabinogalactan (AG) and mannoglucan. WRPP-1 mainly consisted of rhamnose (3.0%), galacturonic acid (12.4%), galactose (24.7%) and arabinose (53.9%), and contained a large proportion of AGs. WRPP-2 consisted of rhamnose (7.8%), galacturonic acid (23.0%), galactose (15%) and arabinose (48.7%), while WRPP-2 contained more galacturonic acid compared to WRPP-1. WRPP-1 and WRPP-2 were composed by type I rhamnogalacturonan (RG-I), homogalacturonan (HG) and AG fragments, while WRPP-2 contained more HG and RG-I.

All the fractions had significant anti-proliferative activity in HT-29 and HCT116 cells; the neutral and acidic fractions were shown to have significant synergistic effects which accounted for the antitumor activity of bee pollen polysaccharides from Rosa rugosa in vitro.

The Medicine of the Manuka

An Investigation of the Usages and Methods for Utilization of Honey Derived From Leptospermum scoparium in Holistic Nursing Practice

J Holist Nurs, 2013 Mar 27

As nursing moves into the next paradigm of health care, there is an increasing shift toward integrative health care that is founded on the integration of traditional or complementary medicines alongside biomedicine. As part of the shift nurses are increasingly observing clients accessing traditional forms of medicine.

One such product that has been used for hundreds of years and is more recently being incorporated into nursing care is the honey produced by bees pollinating Leptospermum scoparium, traditionally known as Manuka. Manuka honey is currently used widely in wound care and as a topical antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory.

Review of the literature supports a very effective and low-risk botanical intervention that is both cost-effective and easily accessible. There is future scope for the use of L. scoparium oil products in nursing and potential for further research to continue to discover its effectiveness.

Saudi Sidr Honey Prevents Liver and Kidney Damage

Attenuation of CCl4-Induced Oxidative Stress and Hepatonephrotoxicity by Saudi Sidr Honey in Rats

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2013;2013:569037 Epub 2013 Feb 24

The present study was undertaken to investigate the possible protective effect of Saudi Sidr honey (SSH) on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced oxidative stress and liver and kidney damage in rat. Moreover, the antioxidant activity and the phenolic and flavonoidal contents were determined.

The hepatorenal protective activity of the SSH was determined by assessing biochemical, hematological, and histological parameters. Serum transaminases, ALP, GGT, creatinine, bilirubin urea, uric acid, and MDA level in liver and kidney tissues were significantly elevated, and the antioxidant status of nonprotein sulfhydryls, albumin, and total protein levels in liver and kidney were declined significantly in CCl4 alone treated animals.

Pretreatment with SSH and silymarin prior to the administration of CCl4 significantly prevented the increase of the serum levels of enzyme markers and reduced oxidative stress. SSH also exhibited a significant lipid-lowering effect and caused an HDL-C enhanced level in serum.

The histopathological evaluation of the liver and kidney also revealed that honey protected incidence of both liver and kidney lesions. Moreover, SSH showed a strong antioxidant activity in DPPH and β -carotene-linoleic acid assays. SSH was found to contain phenolic compounds. Additionally, the SSH supplementation restored the hepatocytes viability against 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein (DCF) toxicity in ex vivo test.

Beeswax as Dental Filling on a Neolithic Human Tooth

PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e44904

Evidence of prehistoric dentistry has been limited to a few cases, the most ancient dating back to the Neolithic. Here we report a 6500-year-old human mandible from Slovenia whose left canine crown bears the traces of a filling with beeswax. The use of different analytical techniques, including synchrotron radiation computed micro-tomography (micro-CT), Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating, Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), has shown that the exposed area of dentine resulting from occlusal wear and the upper part of a vertical crack affecting enamel and dentin tissues were filled with beeswax shortly before or after the individual's death.

If the filling was done when the person was still alive, the intervention was likely aimed to relieve tooth sensitivity derived from either exposed dentine and/or the pain resulting from chewing on a cracked tooth: this would provide the earliest known direct evidence of therapeutic-palliative dental filling.

Propolis Component Could Help Treat Cervical Cancer

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Induces E2F-1-Mediated Growth Inhibition and Cell Cycle Arrest in Human Cervical Cancer Cells

FEBS Journal, Accepted Article

Caffeic acid phenyl ester (CAPE) has been identified as an active component of propolis, a substance that confers a variety of cellular activities in cells of different origins. However, the molecular basis of CAPE-mediated cellular activity remains to be clarified. Here, we show that CAPE preferentially induced S- and G2/M- phase cell cycle arrests and initiated apoptosis in human cervical cancer lines.

The effect was found to be associated with increased expression of E2F-1 in cervical cancer cells as there is no CAPE-mediated induction of E2F-1 in the precancerous cervical Z172 cells. CAPE also upregulated the E2F-1 target genes cyclin A, cyclin E, and apoptotic protease activation of factor 1 (Apaf-1) but down regulated cyclin B and myeloid leukemia cell differentiation protein (Mcl-1). These results suggested the involvement of E2F-1 in CAPE-mediated growth inhibition and cell cycle arrest. Transient transfection studies with luciferase reporters revealed that CAPE altered transcriptional activity of the apaf-1 and mcl-1 promoters. Further studies using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays demonstrated that in CAPE-treated cells, E2F-1 binding to the apaf-1 and cyclin B promoters was increased and decreased, respectively. Furthermore, E2F-1 silencing abolished CAPE-mediated effects on cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and related gene expression.

Taken together, these results indicate a crucial role for E2F-1 in CAPE-mediated cellular activities in cervical cancer cells.