Skip Navigation



eCAM Advance Access published online on August 18, 2004
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/neh034
Copyright © 2004 by the Oxford University Press.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
1/2/175    most recent
neh034v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chen, C.-N.
Right arrow Articles by Lin, J.-K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chen, C.-N.
Right arrow Articles by Lin, J.-K.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received January 28, 2004
Accepted March 14, 2004

Original Article

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

Chia-Nan Chen 1, Meng-Shih Weng 1, Chia-Li Wu 2, Jen-Kun Lin 1*

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

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jklin{at}ha.mc.ntu.edu.tw.


  Abstract

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.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
K. Kunimasa, M.-R. Ahn, T. Kobayashi, R. Eguchi, S. Kumazawa, Y. Fujimori, T. Nakano, T. Nakayama, K. Kaji, and T. Ohta
Brazilian Propolis Suppresses Angiogenesis by Inducing Apoptosis in Tube-forming Endothelial Cells through Inactivation of Survival Signal ERK1/2
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., April 7, 2009; (2009) nep024v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
E. L. Cooper
Colony Collapse Disorder May Affect Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., September 1, 2007; 4(3): 275 - 277.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
Y. Inokuchi, M. Shimazawa, Y. Nakajima, S. Suemori, S. Mishima, and H. Hara
Brazilian Green Propolis Protects against Retinal Damage In Vitro and In Vivo
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., March 1, 2006; 3(1): 71 - 77.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
E. L. Cooper
eCAM benefits from diversity that derives from CAM
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., September 1, 2005; 2(3): 263 - 265.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.