Propolis, also known as
bee-glue, is a resinous substance produced by honeybees from materials collected from plants they visit. It contains mixtures of wax and bee
enzymes and is used by bees as a building material in their
hives and by humans for different purposes in traditional healthcare practices. Although the composition of
propolis has been shown to depend on its geographic location, climatic zone, and local flora; two largely studied types of
propolis: (i) New Zealand and (ii) Brazilian green
propolis have been shown to possess
Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) and
Artepillin C (
ARC) as the main bioactive constituents, respectively. We have earlier reported that CAPE and
ARC possess anticancer activities, mediated by abrogation of mortalin-p53 complex and reactivation of p53
tumor suppressor function. Like CAPE,
Artepillin C (
ARC) and the supercritical extract of green
propolis (GPSE) showed potent anticancer activity. In this study, we recruited low doses of GPSE and
ARC (that did not affect either
cancer cell proliferation or migration) to investigate their antistress potential using in vitro cell based assays. We report that both GPSE and
ARC have the capability to disaggregate
metal- and heat-induced aggregated
proteins.
Metal-induced aggregation of GFP was reduced by fourfold in GPSE- as well as
ARC-treated cells. Similarly, whereas heat-induced misfolding of
luciferase protein showed 80% loss of activity, the cells treated with either GPSE or
ARC showed 60-80% recovery. Furthermore, we demonstrate their pro-
hypoxia (marked by the upregulation of HIF-1α) and neuro-differentiation (marked by differentiation morphology and upregulation of expression of GFAP, β-
tubulin III, and MAP2). Both GPSE and
ARC also offered significant protection against oxidative stress and, hence, may be useful in the treatment of old age-related brain pathologies.