Molecular Mechanistic Approach of Important Antileukemic Compounds Present in Honey

Homeostasis is a collective name for the self-regulating cellular processes that maintain cell stability and survival. Any variation from normal functioning in any biological process can lead to different diseases or syndromes such as cancer, diabetes, and metabolic syndromes. Cancer results by the uncontrolled division of cells in any organ or tissue and can metastasize to other organs as well. Derailment in the process of cell division is the main cause for caner development. Leukemia—a type of cancer in which the function and production of blood cells gets affected, is one of the leading cancers-related mortalities throughout the world. Scientific research has witnessed a great interest in the pharmacodynamics of naturally occurring food products or other plants or plant products of medicinal value in order to make them novel drug agents to target various diseases including cancer. This chapter vividly describes phenolic compounds that can be used as signature drugs to target leukemias. Gene expression and microarray studies have depicted the various signaling pathways regulated by these compounds and, hence, serve in inducing decreased cell growth and malignancy in leukemias. Honey is well-known for its nutritional and medicinal properties since ages and is continuously being explored for its wide pharmacological properties. Studies have attributed significant anti-cancerous action to honey, but very less literature is available on its antileukemic action. In this present chapter, we have summarized the anti-leukemic activities associated with bioactive components present in honey. Honey is a storehouse of biologically essential phenolic compounds such as phenolic acids, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, and coumarins. These compounds show tumor reduction or inhibitory action by arresting the cell cycle, up- or downregulating mRNA expression of proteins involved in apoptotic cascades like Bax, caspase-3, Bcl-2, NOXA, MCL-1, rTRAIL, FAS, SCF/c-Kit complex, p-ATM, p-ATR, 14-3-3 proteins sigma, MGMT, and HDACs; deactivating drug efflux ABC transporters; various cyclins and CDKs; and decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential. Till date no study elucidating the effect of raw honey-derived phenolic compounds has been undertaken and, therefore, a wide scope exists for studying the effective chemotherapeutic mechanisms of these compounds.