Propolis or Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) inhibits growth and viability in multiple oral cancer cell lines

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-3-2019

Publication Title

International Journal of Medical and Biomedical Studies

Volume

3

Issue

1

First page number:

50

Last page number:

55

Abstract

Objective: Propolis is a natural antimicrobial resin from honeybee hives that contains caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), which has anti-proliferative activity against some human cancers, including colon, liver, lung and breast – although limited evidence has evaluated this potential in oral cancers. Based upon this information, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-tumor effects of CAPE against multiple well-characterized oral cancer cell lines. Methods: Using well-characterized oral cancer cell lines (SCC15, SCC25 and CAL27), CAPE was administered at 100 ug/mL to assess any effects on cellular viability or growth over three days. A normal, non-cancerous cell line (HGF-1) was also included. Results: The results of this pilot study demonstrated that CAPE administration significantly reduced both viability and proliferation in all three oral cancer cell lines. Viability was significantly reduced between 30.3% and 35.4% among the oral cancer cell lines (p<0.05), but remained unchanged in the HGF-1 normal cell control (p=0.878). Growth was significantly inhibited between 53.1% and 60.6% among the oral cancer cell lines (p<0.05) but was not affected in the HGF-1 normal cell control (p=0.341). Conclusions: Although the reductions in both cellular viability and proliferation were distinct for each cell line, all exhibited a similar trend and were within a narrowly defined range. These results strongly suggest that CAPE administration had a significant and immediate effect on oral cancer growth and viability and therefore should be considered as the basis for future studies as a potential complementary and alternative therapy for oral cancer.

Keywords

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE); Propolis; Oral cancer; Complementary and alternative medicine

Disciplines

Alternative and Complementary Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences

Language

English

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