Honey Constituent Inhibits Colon Cancer

It's well-known that the synergistic properties of bee products are amplified when taken together. In this case, they pulled a phenolic component of honey, caffeic acid, which is also a primary component in propolis, to suppress cancer cell growth. This study reinforces the prophylactic effect of taking bee products daily...

Growth Inhibition by Caffeic Acid, One of the Phenolic Constituents of Honey, in HCT 15 Colon Cancer Cells

Scientificité Journal, 2012 Apr 29

Previous work from our laboratory showed that the mechanism of crude-honey induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells. Since phenolic constituents of honey were attributed to its apoptosis-inducing ability, we studied caffeic acid, one of the phenolic constituents of honey, induced effect on colon cancer cells.

Antiproliferative effect of caffeic acid was estimated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. MTT assay signified the antiproliferative nature of caffeic acid against the HCT 15 colon cancer cells.

A time-dependent inhibition of colony formation was evident with caffeic acid treatment. Cell-cycle analysis of caffeic acid- (CA-) treated cells indicated increasing accumulation of cells at sub-G(1) phase. Photomicrograph images of treated cells showed membrane blebbing and cell shrinkage. Yo-pro-1 staining of caffeic-acid-treated cells confirmed apoptosis in dose- and time-dependent manner. Increasing ROS generation and reduction in the mitochondrial membrane potential were also accompanied in the caffeic acid-induced apoptosis.

This work will promote caffeic acid as a likely candidate in the chemoprevention of colon cancer.