Bee product helps fight cancer

IAIN McGREGOR/Waikato Times

A SOLUTION?: Annette Rea of Manuka Health with the bee-derived product that potentially helps kill cancer tumours.

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A bee-derived product manufactured by Manuka Health New Zealand, in Te Awamutu, is helping international researchers in the fight against cancer.

The team of researchers is using Bio 30 propolis, produced in the Te Awamutu factory, in a trial investigating the effects of propolis on tumour growth in cancer patients.

The team, led by Melbourne-based cancer researcher Hiroshi Maruta, is several months into testing Bio 30 propolis on 70 neurofibromatosis, melanoma and pancreatic cancer sufferers. Neurofiromatosis is a set of genetic disorders which cause tumours to grow along various types of nerves and can affect the development of non-nervous tissue such as bone and skin. In severe cases the disorder affects nerves throughout the body, including the brain and spinal cord.

Progress of the trial has been reported by the research team in a paper published in Wiley InterSciences Phytotherapy Research. According to the research, most patients have shown no further growth in their tumours.

Chief executive Kerry Paul was cautious about making blanket statements.

"It is a large step forward for the manuka industry but, as in all research, we need to take care not to make a blanket propolis-cures-cancer claim," he said.

The company, which started operation in 2006 and employs 20 people, came under fire from the National Honey Association in May over claims that methylglyoxal was the key anti-bacterial ingredient in manuka honey.

The Bio 30 propolis liquid used in the trial contained 30 mg/g of bioflavonoids, a natural substance which has anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and antiseptic properties. The liquid costs a dollar a day for each patient.

Last year Dr Maruta led a German research team which identified the first known anti-cancer ingredient in propolis, known as caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), a natural compound highly concentrated in the bee product.

Tests by the team found Bio 30 alone, or in combination with CAPE, blocked the spread of tumours.

In the first round of research the team found Bio 30 propolis completely suppressed the human neurofibromatosis grafts on mice. After 63 days mice treated with Bio 30 alone had lost two original tumours and mice treated with Bio 30 and CAPE had lost four.

- © Fairfax NZ News