effect of simultaneous treatment with royal jelly and doxorubicin on the survival of the prostate cancer cell line (pc3): an in vitro study

Background: doxorubicin (dox) therapy is the first step in the treatment of several malignancies such as prostate cancer. drug resistance is the main drawback of this agent. royal jelly (rj), used to prevent or cure many diseases, is a substance produced by honey bee. objectives: the aim of this study was to determine the cytotoxic effect of dox and rj on prostate cancer cells, pc3. methods: cell viability of the three experimental groups (rj-treated cells, dox-treated cells and rj followed by dox-treated cells) was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazoyl-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (mtt) assay. results: rj-treatment increased the cytotoxic effect of dox on pc3 cells. namely, the effect of low dose of dox in combination with rj was approximately similar to that of high dose of dox without rj combination. conclusions: any natural substances that amplify the cytotoxic effect of dox and have the potential to save normal cells can be potentially used as a therapeutic agent which can decrease the side effects of dox-treatment. rj has shown to play this role in the present study.