%0 Journal Article
%@ 03088146
%A Cianciosi, Danila
%A Armas Diaz, Yasmany
%A Alvarez-Suarez, José M.
%A Chen, Xiumin
%A Zhang, Di
%A Martínez López, Nohora Milena
%A Briones Urbano, Mercedes
%A Quiles, José L.
%A Amici, Adolfo
%A Battino, Maurizio
%A Giampieri, Francesca
%D 2023
%F uninipr:7844
%J Food Chemistry
%P 136684
%T Can the phenolic compounds of Manuka honey chemosensitize colon cancer stem cells? A deep insight into the effect on chemoresistance and self-renewal
%U http://repositorio.unib.org/id/eprint/7844/
%V 427
%X Manuka honey, which is rich in pinocembrin, quercetin, naringenin, salicylic, p-coumaric, ferulic, syringic and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acids, has been shown to have pleiotropic effects against colon cancer cells. In this study, potential chemosensitizing effects of Manuka honey against 5-Fluorouracil were investigated in colonspheres enriched with cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are responsible for chemoresistance. Results showed that 5-Fluorouracil increased when it was combined with Manuka honey by downregulating the gene expression of both ATP-binding cassette sub-family G member 2, an efflux pump and thymidylate synthase, the main target of 5-Fluorouracil which regulates the ex novo DNA synthesis. Manuka honey was associated with decreased self-renewal ability by CSCs, regulating expression of several genes in Wnt/β-catenin, Hedgehog and Notch pathways. This preliminary study opens new areas of research into the effects of natural compounds in combination with pharmaceuticals and, potentially, increase efficacy or reduce adverse effects.