Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester: A Potential Therapeutic Cancer Agent?

Geir Bjørklund; Olha Storchylo; Massimiliano Peana; Tony Hangan; Roman Lysiuk; Larysa Lenchyk; Oleh Koshovyi; Halyna Antonyak; Nataliia Hudz; Salvatore Chirumbolo

doi:10.2174/0109298673252993230921073502

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester: A Potential Therapeutic Cancer Agent?

Curr Med Chem. 2023 Nov 6. doi: 10.2174/0109298673252993230921073502. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Geir Bjørklund¹, Olha Storchylo², Massimiliano Peana³, Tony Hangan⁴, Roman Lysiuk^{5

6}, Larysa Lenchyk^{7

8}, Oleh Koshovyi^{8

9}, Halyna Antonyak¹⁰, Nataliia Hudz^{11

12}, Salvatore Chirumbolo^{13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Council for Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (CONEM), Mo i Rana, Norway.
² Medical Chemistry Department, Odessa National Medical University, Odessa, Ukraine.
³ Department of Chemical, Physics, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Ovidius University of Constanta, Constanta, Romania.
⁵ Department of Pharmacognosy and Botany, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine.
⁶ CONEM Ukraine Life Science Research Group, Department of Pharmacognosy and Botany, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine.
⁷ Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, National University of Pharmacy, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
⁸ CONEM Ukraine Pharmacognosy and Natural Product Chemistry Research Group, National University of Pharmacy, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
⁹ Department of Pharmacognosy, National University of Pharmacy, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
¹⁰ Department of Ecology, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine.
¹¹ Department of Drug Technology and Biopharmaceutics, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine.
¹² Faculty of Chemistry, University of Opole, Opole, Poland.
¹³ Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
¹⁴ CONEM Scientific Secretary, Verona, Italy.

PMID: 37933215
DOI: 10.2174/0109298673252993230921073502

Abstract

Background: Propolis and its major phenolic compound, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), have garnered considerable scientific interest due to their anti-inflammatory properties and potential therapeutic applications.

Objectives: This narrative review explores the potential utility of CAPE in cancer treatment.

Methods: We comprehensively reviewed relevant studies from scientific databases (PubMed and Web of Science) from 2000 to 2022. Our search focused on keywords such as cancer, natural drugs, caffeic acid phenethyl ester, CAPE, cancer cell lines, antitumor effects, and propolis.

Results: CAPE exhibits diverse biological benefits, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, and potentially anti-carcinogenic properties. Numerous studies have demonstrated its wide-ranging antitumor effects on various cancer cell lines, including growth inhibition, apoptosis induction, tumor invasiveness prevention, malignancy suppression, and anti-angiogenic activity.

Conclusion: Following comprehensive preclinical toxicity assessments, further evaluation of CAPE's efficacy and safety through clinical trials is highly recommended to elucidate its potential health benefits in diverse forms of human cancer.

Keywords: antitumor effects; caffeic acid phenethyl ester; cancer; cancer cell lines; natural drugs; propolis.