Review Article

Antioxidant Potential of Propolis, Bee Pollen, and Royal Jelly: Possible Medical Application

Table 3

The protective effects of bee pollen against prooxidant action of different harmful factors.

SourceToxic factorHarmful effects of a toxic factorThe type of bee pollen and the way of applicationEffects of bee pollen coadministration

Mitigation effect of bee pollen on chemiotherapeutic agents
Huang et al. [88]Cisplatin-induced toxicity in rats, (8 mg/kg b.w. i.p. in single dose) on the 7th day of the 12-day-experiment↑ MDA and iNOS: liver and kidney
↓ SOD, CAT, and GSH: liver and kidney
Schisandra chinensis bee pollen extracted with 70% ethanol, 400, 800, and 1200 mg/kg b.w. p.o., 12 days↓ MDA in liver∗∗ and kidney
↓ iNOS in liver and kidney∗∗
↑ SOD in liver∗∗ and kidney∗∗
↑ CAT in the liver and kidney
↑ GSH in the liver and kidney
Tohamy et al. [89]Cisplatin-induced toxicity in male mice (2.8 mg/kg b.w. i.p. twice/week for 3 weeks)↑ Lipid peroxidation in liver, kidney and testis
↓ CAT and GSH in the liver, kidney, and testis
Water, Egyptian bee pollen extract, 140 mg/kg b.w. once a day orally, during the last 2 weeks of cisplatin exposure↓ Lipid peroxidation in the kidney, liver, and testis
↑ CAT and GSH in the kidney, liver, and testis
Mitigation effect of bee pollen on other toxic agents
Ferreira et al. [12]Tebuconazole-exposed fish (catfish jundiá), 0.88 mg/L (16.6% of 96 h LC50)
96 hours
↑ Lipid peroxidation in the liver, kidney, and brain
↓ SOD in liver
↑ CAT in the liver and brain
Bee pollen; 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 g/L, environmental exposure↓ Lipid peroxidation in the liver, kidney∗∗, and brain∗∗
↑ SOD in the liver ∗∗
↓ CAT in liver∗∗: low and high doses
↓ CAT in brain∗∗
Yıldız et al. [1]Carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in rats (0.85 mL/kg b. w. i.p., 7 days)↑ plasma ALT and AST
↑ MDA in liver, RBC and plasma;
↓ SOD in plasma, RBC and liver
Bee pollen collected during flowering season in Turkey (Western Black Sea region) with dominant component chestnut sativa pollen (>45%), 200 mg/kg/day orally, 400 mg/kg/day orally, 7 days↓ Plasma ALT: high dose
↓ Plasma AST
↓ MDA in the plasma, RBC, and liver
Almaraz-Abarca et al. [93]Bromobenzene-induced hepatotoxicity in mice, 94.211 μg/mL in oil, 200 μL orally↑ Lipid peroxidation liverBee pollen from mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) collected in April in Mexico, extracts of two flavonol concentration (9.794 μg/mL and 21.751 μg/mL), 200 μL orally↓ Liver lipid peroxidation—only the higher dose
Ketkar [92]Chronic exercise-induced oxidative stress in rats, 4 weeks↓ Gastrocnemius muscle SOD and GSH
↑ Gastrocnemius muscle MDA and NO
↓ Weight of gastrocnemius muscle and body
The neat and processed (1 mg of bee pollen : 500 mg of Captex 355 : 750 mg of Tween 80) monofloral Indian mustard bee pollen, 100, 200, or 300 mg/kg daily, orally↑ SOD and GSH in gastrocnemius muscle
↓ MDA in gastrocnemius muscle: neat∗∗: high dose, processed: all doses
↓ NO in gastrocnemius muscle neat∗∗: higher ones, processed: all doses
↑ Body weight
↑ Gastrocnemius muscle weight neat∗∗: high one, processed∗∗: higher doses
The positive effects increase along with the increase in the dose

ALT: alanine aminotransferase; AST: aspartate aminotransferase; CAT: catalase; GSH: reduced glutathione, iNOS: inducible nitric oxide synthase; MDA: malondialdehyde; NO: nitrogen oxide; RBC: red blood cell; SOD: superoxide dismutase; ↓: decrease; ↑: increase; ∗∗the effect depended on used dose.