Kacemi Rachid, Campos Maria G
Observatory of Drug-Herb Interactions, Faculty of Pharmacy, Heath Sciences Campus, University of Coimbra, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.
Coimbra Chemistry Centre (CQC, FCT Unit 313) (FCTUC), University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2025 Feb 25;14(3):265. doi: 10.3390/antiox14030265.
Bee pollen (BP) is one of the richest known natural resources of micronutrients and bioactive phytochemicals. Some captivating bioactivities of BP compounds, although being largely investigated for the latter as individual molecules, remain very scarcely investigated or completely uninvestigated in bee pollen as a whole product. Among the most intriguing of these bioactivities, we identified ferroptosis as a major one. Ferroptosis, a recently discovered form of cell death (connecting oxidative stress and inflammation), is a complex pathophysiological process and one of the most crucial and perplexing events in current challenging human diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and general aging diseases. Many BP compounds were found to intricately modulate ferroptosis depending on the cellular context by inducing this cell death mechanism in malignant cells and preventing it in non-malignant cells. Since research in both fields, i.e., BP and ferroptosis, is still recent, we deemed it necessary to undertake this review to figure out the extent of BP potential in modulating ferroptosis mechanisms. Our research proved that a wide range of BP compounds (polyphenols, phenolamides, carotenoids, vitamins, minerals, and others) substantially modulate diverse ferroptosis mechanisms. Accordingly, these phytochemicals and nutrients showed interesting potential in preclinical studies to lead to ferroptosis-mediated outcomes in important pathophysiological processes, including many aging-related disorders. One of the most paramount challenges that remain to be resolved is to determine how different BP compounds act on ferroptosis in different biological and pathophysiological contexts, either through synergistic or antagonistic behaviors. We hope that our current work constitutes a valuable incentive for future investigations in this promising and very relevant research avenue.
蜂花粉（BP）是已知最富含微量营养素和生物活性植物化学物质的自然资源之一。BP化合物具有一些引人入胜的生物活性，尽管其中许多作为单个分子已得到大量研究，但作为完整产品的蜂花粉中的这些生物活性仍很少被研究或完全未被研究。在这些最引人关注的生物活性中，我们确定铁死亡是主要的一种。铁死亡是一种最近发现的细胞死亡形式（将氧化应激和炎症联系起来），是一个复杂的病理生理过程，也是当前诸如癌症、神经退行性疾病和一般衰老疾病等具有挑战性的人类疾病中最关键和最令人困惑的事件之一。人们发现许多BP化合物可根据细胞环境通过在恶性细胞中诱导这种细胞死亡机制并在非恶性细胞中阻止它来复杂地调节铁死亡。由于BP和铁死亡这两个领域的研究都还处于起步阶段，我们认为有必要进行这项综述，以弄清楚BP在调节铁死亡机制方面的潜力程度。我们的研究证明，多种BP化合物（多酚、酚酰胺、类胡萝卜素、维生素、矿物质等）可显著调节多种铁死亡机制。因此，这些植物化学物质和营养素在临床前研究中显示出有趣的潜力，可在重要的病理生理过程中导致铁死亡介导的结果，包括许多与衰老相关的疾病。仍有待解决的最主要挑战之一是确定不同的BP化合物如何在不同的生物学和病理生理背景下通过协同或拮抗行为作用于铁死亡。我们希望我们目前的工作能为这一有前景且非常相关的研究领域的未来研究提供有价值的激励。
