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Use of Honey in Cancer Prevention and Therapy

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Pot-Honey

Abstract

Information obtained from traditional use and scientific studies can help establish the value of honey in cancer treatment. Animal models and clinical trials with honey administered alone or in combination with other natural products or targeted therapy, are often difficult to interpret because honey contains major sugary and watery plant components, polyphenols, organic acids, and other secondary metabolites and structures, collected and/or transformed by the bees from thousands of plants. Similarly, cancer includes over 100 forms of metastitized tumors. Antiproliferative action of pot honey from Frieseomelitta, Melipona, Scaptotrigona, and Tetragonula on human ovarian cancer cell lines, reported here from our recent work, suggests cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer may be effectively diminished by honey.

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Acknowledgments

Persons and institutions that facilitated our work are as follows: Endeavour Awards from Australia for the 2011 Research Fellowship at The University of Sydney to Prof. P. Vit, during her sabbatical leave from Universidad de Los Andes. Prof. F. Huq scientific projects at The University of Sydney, BRIG and Cancer Research Donation Account. The supportive environment at the USYD Discipline of Biomedical Science. To the Ph.D. student Zaynab Al-Eisawi for her assistance. To Dr. Tim Heard from CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia for honey of Tetragonula carbonaria. To M.Sc. Jerônimo Khan Villas-Boâs collaborator of Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Brazil, for honey of Melipona scutellaris and the Scaptotrigona polysticta from João Pessoa and Xingú, Brazil respectively. To Mr. José Reyes from the Tosepan Titaniske Cooperative, Cuetzalan, Puebla, Mexico, for honey of Scaptotrigona mexicana. To Mrs. Liliana Castro from Mujeres Juntas Enfrentando Retos, Guerrero, Mexico, for the three honey samples of Melipona fasciata, Scaptotrigona hellwegeri and Frieseomelitta nigra. To Mr. Emmanuel Pérez de León and to Mr. Ramiro García Farfán from the Soconusco group, Chiapas, México, for honey of Melipona solani and Melipona beecheii, respectively. To Dr. Giorgio Venturieri from Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Belém, Pará, Brasil, for Melipona rufiventris honey. The Melipona fasciculata honey samples were received from Prof. Murilo Sergio Drummond, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, from Moura, Preazinho, and Tabocas, Brazil. The Melipona favosa honey samples were collected by Prof. Patricia Vit, and the bee was identified by Prof. João MF Camargo. Scaptotrigona polysticta was kindly identified by Dr. Silvia R.M. Pedro from the. The Mexican bees were identified by Prof. Ricardo Ayala from Chamela, Jalisco, Mexico. We are grateful to careful revision received from anonymous referees, Dr. David Roubik (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panamá) and Dr. Silvia R.M. Pedro (Biology Department, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Apitherapy and Bioactivity, Food Science Department, Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela

    Patricia Vit

  2. Cancer Research Group, Discipline of Biomedical Science, The University of Sydney, Cumberland Campus C42, 75 East Street, Lidcombe, NSW, 1825, Australia

    Patricia Vit, Jun Qing Yu & Fazlul Huq

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  1. Patricia Vit
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Correspondence to Patricia Vit .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Zumba Sur, University of the Andes, Villa Del Rio 8, Merida, 5101, Venezuela

    Patricia Vit

  2. Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirão Preto, 14040-901, São Paulo, Brazil

    Silvia R. M. Pedro

  3. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancon, Panama

    David Roubik

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This chapter is dedicated to cancer sufferers and survivors, and researchers engaged in its prevention and therapy

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Vit, P., Yu, J.Q., Huq, F. (2013). Use of Honey in Cancer Prevention and Therapy. In: Vit, P., Pedro, S., Roubik, D. (eds) Pot-Honey. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4960-7_35

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