Hepatoprotective and antineoplastic potencial of red propolis produced by the bees Apis mellifera in the semiarid of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of the honey bee Apis mellifera ethanolic extract of the red propolis, obtained in four municipalities of the Rio Grande do Norte semi-arid region, through an in vitro evaluation of the antineoplastic potential in human hepatic carcinoma (HepG2) and normal cell lines (L929), and from the comet assay in hepatic cell lines (ZF-L hepatocytes) to evaluate the genoprotective potential of the extract. The hepatoprotective effect was also evaluated in vivo by the induction of chronic experimental hepatic lesions in rodents (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout, 1769), Wistar line, by intraperitoneal administration of thioacetamide (TAA) at the dose of 0.2g/kg. The animals were distributed in the following experimental groups: G1 (control), G2 (treated with 500mg/kg ethanolic extract of propolis), G3 (treated with 500mg/kg of ethanolic extract and TAA) and G4 (treated with TAA). All rats were submitted to serum biochemical, macroscopic, histological and stereological biochemical exams of the liver. It was verified the genoprotective effect of red propolis since the mean damages promoted to DNA in cells tested with the extract were significantly lower than the mean of the positive control damage (hydrogen peroxide). The red propolis extract did not present cytotoxic activity to the tumor cells of human liver cancer, as well as to normal ones. The absence of cytotoxicity in normal cells may indicate safety in the use of the propolis extract. The results of the serum biochemical evaluation showed that the serum levels of the aminotransferase enzymes (AST) did not differ significantly between G1, G2 and G3 when compared to each other. G4 showed significant increase in levels compared to the other groups, indicating that the administration of the extract did not cause liver toxicity, as well as exerted hepatoprotective effect against the hepatic damage induced by TAA. The G3 and G4 animals developed cirrhosis, but in G3 the livers were characterized by the presence of small regenerative nodules and level with the surface of the organ, whereas in G4 the livers showed large regenerative nodules. The livers of the G1 and G2 animals presented normal histological appearance, whereas the livers of the G3 animals showed regenerative nodules surrounded by thin septa of connective tissue, and in G4 the regenerative nodules were surrounded by thick septa fibrous connective tissue. The analysis of the hepatic tissues by means of stereology showed that there was no statistical difference between the percentage of hepatocytes, sinusoids, and collagens in G1 and G2. In G3 the percentage of hepatocytes, sinusoids, and collagen did not differ significantly from the other groups. It was concluded that the ethanolic extract of the red propolis exerted a hepatoprotective effect, because it promoted in vitro reduction of the damage to the DNA of liver cells, antineoplastic activity in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) and did not exert cytotoxic effect in normal cells or was able to reduce liver enzyme activity and the severity of cirrhosis induced by TAA in vivo.

O uso da própolis como agente cicatrizante e hepatoprotetor

“…A capacidade de secreção de citocinas aumentou significativamente durante o período de tratamento de maneira dependente do tempo. Os autores concluíram que a própolis foi capaz de desencadear uma reatividade imunológica sem efeitos colaterais Para Silva et al (2019) sobre o uso da própolis como hepatoprotetor afirmam que, como o fígado é o principal órgão do metabolismo de compostos, muitas doenças hepáticas aparecem por sua exposição a substâncias tóxicas, e o estresse oxidativo promovido por essas substâncias é muito importante nos mecanismos fisiopatológicos dessas doenças. Como a própolis possui substâncias bioativas com potencial antioxidante, anti-inflamatório e geno protetor, o extrato etanólico da própolis vermelha pode prevenir ou minimizar os danos às células hepáticas quando expostos a substâncias hepatotóxicas.…”

“…Dependendo de sua cor, odor e consistência, as características da própolis estão associadas à sua região de origem, fonte botânica e composição química. Assim, a própolis pode variar de verde, vermelho a marrom, preto e amarelo (Silva et al, 2019).…”

“…Especificamente, a própolis contém os polifenóis chamados flavonóides. Os flavonóides são produzidos nas plantas como uma forma de proteção e são cinco comumente encontrados em alimentos com propriedades antioxidantes, incluindo: frutas; chá-verde; legumes e vinho tinto (Silva et al, 2019).…”

Potential Role of Propolis Nanoparticles in Medicine and Health: An Updated Review

“…The ethanolic extract of red propolis had a hepatoprotective impact as it reduced DNA damage in liver cells in vitro, had antineoplastic activity in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, did not have bad impact in normal cells, and was able to decrease liver enzyme and the severity of cirrhosis caused by thioacetamide (Silva et al, 2019). Micellar propolis protected rats from CCl4-induced acute liver damage in vivo was studied.…”

Red propolis extract in the diet of confined sheep: morphometric alterations of the digestive system

“…Furthermore,Sharma et al (1995) demonstrated that dietary factors (diet and microbial ora) couldaffect the number of goblet cells, in addition to modulating their secretory activity(Barcelo et al, 2000) improving intestinal health.The result found in the present study may indicate that RPE does not have any toxic effect on the number of these cells. It is described in the literature that phenolic acids and avonoids present in more excellent,more signi cant amounts in red propolis have a excellent antioxidant(Frozza et al, 2013;Tiveron et al, 2016) and gastroprotective action on the intestinal mucosa, preserving the normal viability of cells( Behling et al, 2008).Studies evaluating the ethanolic extract of Indian propolis(Zhao et al, 2009;Bhadauria, 2012) and red propolis itself(Silva et al, 2019d) found that both propolis has a hepatoprotective effect on normal cells. This protective action occurs due to the presence of gallic acid, kaempferol, and quercetin, which are bioactive compounds found in large quantities in the chemical composition of Indian and red propolis, which could be useful and effective in the case of diets with agricultural by-products that still have some concentration of antinutritional factors(Oliveira et al., 2012; Galo et al, 2015; Barboza et al, 2019) of liver metabolism.…”