Researchers in Spain and Italy have shown that honey from strawberry trees is a typical product in the Mediterranean region. When added to colon cancer media grown in the laboratory, it prevents cell growth. The authors hope that these promising results and the anti-tumor potential of this food can be confirmed in in vivo models.
The honey extracted from the flowers of the strawberry tree is famous for its sensory properties, especially its strong bitterness and dark color. At present, scientists from the University of Vigo in Spain, the University of Granada in Spain and the Marche Polytechnic Institute in Italy have analyzed the potential of this Mediterranean product for colon cancer. The results published in the "Journal of Functional Foods" show that strawberry tree honey can proliferate tumor cells grown in the laboratory, especially human colon adenocarcinoma (HCT-116) and another metastatic cancer (LoVo). It shows that it can be suppressed. "Honey therapy regulates several genes (cyclinD1, CDK2, p27Ki), other important genes (p53, caspase-3, c-PARP) and various apoptotic factors to prevent tumor cell cycle by regulating and inhibiting cell migration and reducing its colonization. And the ability to induce apoptosis or programmed cell death, it also inhibits the epidermal growth factor EGFR/HER2 receptor and its signal transduction pathway. Because it survives in the cell, it can become an attractive target for cancer treatment. It is proliferating and declining. It plays an important role in the process of death and metastasis. The cytotoxic and anti-tumor effects of strawberry tree honey on cell lines increase with the increase of treatment time and dose. This leads to other related consequences, such as reduction of transcription factors and certain enzyme activities The inhibition of mitochondrial respiration, and the glycolysis of tumor cells. "These phenomena were observed after applying honey to healthy cell lines. "The author pointed out that this natural product has anti-cancer activity, but its chemical properties are confirmed. This requires new research on in vivo models of colon cancer.
"These data do not yet mean that strawberry tree honey can treat cancer," Battino added. A mechanism to increase interest in research and food production in the Mediterranean.
The researchers concluded that: “This is new evidence that a healthy, balanced and natural diet can provide bioactive compounds that are effective against this disease. It has an interesting effect on its control and development.”