Research progress on radioprotective effects of bee products

Abstract

Radiation exposure is an on going and serious threat in military and public health concern. There is an unmet need for effective preventative or mitigative treatments against radiation-induced injuries. The handful of Food and Drug Administration in the US approved radiation protection agents cannot be widely used due to their side effects. Some natural nontoxic compounds such as bee products have been reported to prevent and treat radiation-induced injuries (e.g. scavenging free radicals, inhibiting cell apoptosis and reducing DNA damage), indicating that they may be a potential option as a safe radioprotective agent. Bee products are nontoxic and have no known side effects on the human body, and are effective in the field of radiation protection. They are expected to be interesting drug candidates for preventing and treating radiation-induced injuries. This article reviews the prevention and treatment of bee products on radiation-induced injuries.

Keywords:

• Bee products
• radioprotection
• oxidative stress
• apoptosis
• DNA damage

Disclosure statement

Xin Zhang is responsible for drafting ideas and manuscripts. Huali Song and Xiangyou Tang are responsible for collecting references. Shuang Wang and Juan Li are responsible for revising the manuscript.Yuhui Hao is responsible for guiding the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The author is very grateful for the special funds for major logistics projects [Grant No: AWS17J007, 2018XYY02, 18CXZ004].

Notes on contributors

Xin Zhang

Xin Zhang is a postgraduate student of the College of Life Sciences of Chongqing Normal University and the Institute of Compound Injury of Army Medical University. Her research direction is molecular biology and preventive medicine.

Huali Song

Huali Song is a postgraduate student in the School of Life Sciences of Chongqing Normal University. Her research direction is biochemistry and molecular biology.

Xiangyou Tang

Xiangyou Tang is a postgraduate student at the School of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University. His research direction is biochemistry and molecular biology.

Shuang Wang

Shuang Wang is a research assistant at the Institute of Compound Injuries, Army Medical University. Her research direction is preventive medicine.

Juan Li

Juan Li is a research assistant at the Institute of Compound Injuries, Army Medical University. Her research direction is preventive medicine.

Yuhui Hao

Yuhui Hao is an associate professor at the Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Joint Injuries, Joint Injury Institute, School of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University. His research focuses on the prevention and treatment of radiation damage and wound repair.