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eCAM Advance Access originally published online on August 18, 2004
eCAM 2004 1(2):175-185; doi:10.1093/ecam/neh034
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© 2004, the authors Evidenced-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol. 1, Issue 2 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved. The online version of this article has been published under an open access model. Users are entitled to use, reproduce, disseminate, or display the open access version of this article provided that: the original authorship is properly and fully attributed; the Journal and Oxford University Press are attributed as the original place of publication with the correct citation details given; if an article is subsequently reproduced or disseminated not in its entirety but only in part or as a derivative work this must be clearly indicated.

Original Article

Comparison of Radical Scavenging Activity, Cytotoxic Effects and Apoptosis Induction in Human Melanoma Cells by Taiwanese Propolis from Different Sources

Chia-Nan Chen1, Meng-Shih Weng1, Chia-Li Wu2 and Jen-Kun Lin1,*

1Graduate Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Section 1 Jen-Ai Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan, and 2Department of Chemistry, Tamkang University Tamsui 251, Taiwan

Propolis is a sticky substance that is collected from plants by honeybees. We previously demonstrated that propolins A, B, C, D, E and F, isolated from Taiwanese propolis (TP), could effectively induce human melanoma cell apoptosis and were strong antioxidant agents. In this study, we evaluated TP for free radical scavenging activity by DPPH (1,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl). The phenolic concentrations were quantified by the Folin–Ciocalteu method. The apoptosis trigger activity in human melanoma cells was evaluated. TP contained a higher level of phenolic compounds and showed strong capability to scavenge free radicals. Additionally, TP1g, TP3, TP4 and TP7 exhibited a cytotoxic effect on human melanoma cells, with an IC50 of ~2.3, 2.0, 3.3 and 3.3 µg/ml, respectively. Flow cytometric analysis for DNA fragmentation indicated that TP1g, TP2, TP3 and TP7 could induce apoptosis in human melanoma cells and there is a marked loss of cells from the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. To address the mechanism of the apoptosis effect of TP, we evaluated its effects on induction of apoptosis-related proteins in human melanoma cells. The levels of procaspase-3 and PARP [poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase] were markedly decreased. Furthermore, propolins A, B, C, D, E and F in TP were determined using HPLC. The results indicate that TP is a rich source of these compounds. The findings suggest that TP induces apoptosis in human melanoma cells due to its high level of propolins.

Keywords: Taiwanese propolis – propolins – radical scavenging activity – antioxidant activity – apoptosis – anti-tumor

*For reprints and all correspondence: Jen-Kun Lin, Graduate Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Section 1, Jen-Ai Road, Taipei, Taiwan 100. E-mail: jklin{at}ha.mc.ntu.edu.tw


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