Oriental Hornet () Larval Extracts Induce Antiproliferative, Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Anti-Migratory Effects on MCF7 Cells.

The use of insects as a feasible and useful natural product resource is a novel and promising option in alternative medicine. Several components from insects and their larvae have been found to inhibit molecular pathways in different stages of cancer. This study aimed to analyze the effect of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of larvae on breast cancer MCF7 cells and investigate the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that individual treatment with 5% aqueous or alcoholic larval extract inhibited MCF7 proliferation but had no cytotoxic effect on normal Vero cells. The anticancer effect was mediated through (1) induction of apoptosis, as indicated by increased expression of apoptotic genes (, caspase3, and ) and decreased expression of the anti-apoptotic gene ; (2) suppression of intracellular reactive oxygen species; (3) elevation of antioxidant enzymes (CAT, SOD, and GPx) and upregulation of the antioxidant regulator and its downstream target ; (4) inhibition of migration as revealed by in vitro wound healing assay and downregulation of the migration-related gene and upregulation of the anti-migratory gene ; and (5) downregulation of inflammation-related genes ( and ). The aqueous extract exhibited the best anticancer effect with higher antioxidant activities but lower anti-inflammatory properties than the alcoholic extract. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of several flavonoids and phenolic compounds with highest concentrations for resveratrol and naringenin in aqueous extract and rosmarinic acid in alcoholic extract. This is the first report to explain the intracellular pathway by which flavonoids and phenolic compounds-rich extracts of larvae could induce MCF7 cell viability loss through the initiation of apoptosis, activation of antioxidants, and inhibition of migration and inflammation. Therefore, these extracts could be used as adjuvants for anticancer drugs and as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents.