Honey-bee products in prevention and/or therapy of murine transplantable tumours

We investigated the effects of water-soluble derivative of propolis (WSDP), caffeic acid, honey, royal jelly and bee venom on tumour development and metastasis in murine tumour models. Transplantable murine tumours were used: a spontaneous mammary carcinoma (MCa) and a methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma (FS) of CBA mouse. Metastases in the lung were generated by injecting 10(5) or 2 x 10(5) viable tumour cells intravenously. Tumours in the hind leg were generated by subcutaneous injection of 10(4) or 10(5) mammary carcinoma cells. Oral application of WSDP or caffeic acid significantly reduced subcutaneous tumour growth and prolonged survival of mice. Honey also exerted a pronounced antimetastatic effect (p < 0.01 or p < 0.001) when applied before tumour cell inoculation (2 g kg(-1) orally once a day for 10 consecutive days). Royal jelly did not affect the formation of metastases when given intraperitoneally or subcutaneously. However, synchronous application of tumour cells and royal jelly intravenously significantly (p < 0.001) inhibited the formation of metastases. When bee venom was injected intratumourally, tumours decreased in size. These findings demonstrated that honey-bee products given orally or systemically may have an important role controlling tumour growth and metastasis.