PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF PROPOLIS ON RADIATION-INDUCED CHROMOSOMAL DAMAGE ON CHINESE HAMSTER OVARY CELLS (CHO-K1)

ABSTRACT

In the last years, particular interest has been given to investigations concerning natural, effective and nontoxic compounds with radioprotective capacity in concert with increasing utilization of different types of ionizing radiation for various applications. Among them, propolis, a resinous mixture of substances collected by honey bees (Apis mellifera) has been considered promising since it presents several advantageous characteristics, i.e., anti-inflamatory, anticarcinogenic, antimicrobial and free-radical scavenging action. It is, therefore, a direct antioxidant that protects cells and organisms from the adverse effects of ionizing radiation. These relevant biological activities are mainly mediated by the flavonoids, present at relatively high concentrations in the propolis. Considering that the chemical composition and, consequently, the biological activity of propolis is variable according to the environmental plant ecology, the present study was conducted in order to evaluate the radioprotective capacity of Brazilian propolis (AF-08), against genotoxic damages induced by 60Co γ-radiation in Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1). For this purpose, micronucleus induction was analyzed concerning irreparable damage, specifically related to DNA double-strand breaks, that are potentially carcinogenic. CHO-K1 cells were submitted to different concentrations of propolis (5 – 30 µg/ml), 1 h before irradiation, with 1 Gy of γ radiation (0.722 Gy/min). The data obtained showed a decreasing tendency in the quantity of radioinduced damage on cells previously treated with propolis. The radioprotective effect was more prominent at higher propolis concentration. The treatment with propolis alone did not induce genotoxic effects on CHO-K1 cells. Beside that, the treatment with propolis, associated or not with radiation, did not influence the kinetics of cellular proliferation.