Royal Jelly Protects Kidneys, Liver from Anti-Cancer Treatments

New research from Turkish researchers confirm the protective properties of Royal Jelly against damage caused by anti-cancer therapies. Could this be new ground towards complementary alternative therapies? 

Royal Jelly Modulates Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis in Liver and Kidneys of Rats Treated with Cisplatin

Oxidative Medicine and Cell Longevity, Volume 2011 (2011)

Abstract:

Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the most active cytotoxic agents in the treatment of cancer and has adverse side effects such as nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. The present study was designed to determine the effects of royal jelly (RJ) against oxidative stress caused by CDDP injury of the kidneys and liver, by measuring tissue biochemical and antioxidant parameters and investigating apoptosis immunohistochemically.

Twenty-four Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups, group C: control group received 0.9% saline; group CDDP: injected i.p. with cisplatin (CDDP, 7 mg kg(-1) body weight i.p., single dose); group RJ: treated for 15 consecutive days by gavage with RJ (300 mg/kg/day); group RJ + CDDP: treated by gavage with RJ 15 days following a single injection of CDDP. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were determined in liver and kidney homogenates, and the liver and kidney were also histologically examined.

RJ elicited a significant protective effect towards liver and kidney by decreasing the level of lipid peroxidation (MDA), elevating the level of GSH, and increasing the activities of GST, GSH-Px, and SOD. In the immunohistochemical examinations were observed significantly enhanced apoptotic cell numbers and degenerative changes by cisplatin, but these histological changes were lower in the liver and kidney tissues of RJ + CDDP group. Besides, treatment with RJ lead to an increase in antiapoptotic activity hepatocytes and tubular epithelium.

In conclusion, RJ may be used in combination with cisplatin in chemotherapy to improve cisplatin-induced oxidative stress parameters and apoptotic activity...

excerpt:

Recently, royal jelly (RJ) has received particular attention because of studies that have reported that it is a highly efficient antioxidant and has free radical scavenging capacity [4, 15]. Royal jelly is a secretion produced by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honeybees (Apis mellifera). It contains many important compounds with biological activity such as free amino acids, proteins, sugars, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins [16]. So far, RJ has been demonstrated to possess several physiological activities in experimental animals, including vasodilative and hypotensive activities [17], the induction of decrease in serum cholesterol levels [18], antimicrobial [19], antiallergic [20], anti-inflammatory [21], immunomodulatory [22, 23], and antioxidant properties [16]. In addition, Kanbur et al. [24] revealed the protective effect of RJ against paracetamol-induced liver damage in mice.