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Microbes & Immunity

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
In vitro evaluation of Hyphaene thebaica honey

as a multitarget therapeutic product

Basheer Abu-Farich 1 , Mahmud Masalha 2 , Hadeel Hamarshi 2 ,
Asmae El Ghouizi 1 , Abderrazak Aboulghazi 1 , Mohammed El Ouassete 3 ,
1
2
Doha Weldali 2 , Badiaa Lyoussi * , and Bashar Saad *
1 Laboratory of Natural Substances, Pharmacology, Environment, Modeling, Health, and Life Quality,
Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mehraz, University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah,
Fez, Morocco
2 Qasemi Research Center and Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Arab American
University, Jenin, Palestine
3 Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology and Bioactive Molecules, Sciences and Technologies
Faculty, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Natural Products in the Prevention and Treatment of
Microbiological, Immunological, and Infectious Diseases: Integrating Wild Edible Plants and Beyond)

Abstract

Hyphaene thebaica honey, commonly known as doum honey (DH), is widely utilized
in the Mediterranean region due to its putative health benefits. However, the precise
mechanisms underpinning these benefits remain obscure. This study sought to assess
*Corresponding authors:
Badiaa Lyoussi the anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties of DH, and analyze its
(lyoussi@gmail.com) polyphenolic composition. The antibacterial effects of DH were tested against a range
Bashar Saad of multidrug-resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. In addition,
(Bashar@qsm.ac.il; Bashar.saad@
aaup.edu) we investigated the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities of DH in
the MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line. The phenolic compounds in DH were
Citation: Abu-Farich B, Masalha M, evaluated using quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The model
Hamarshi H, et al. In vitro
evaluation of Hyphaene thebaica used to assess the anti-inflammatory properties was lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated
honey as a multitarget therapeutic macrophages. HPLC analysis revealed nine phenolic compounds in DH: Gallic acid, caffeic
product. Microbes & Immunity. acid, carvacrol, p-coumaric acid, ellagic acid, kaempferol, pinobanksin, pinocembrin, and
2025;2(1):78-91.
doi: 10.36922/mi.4994 galangin. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for DH varied between
0.19% and 0.78% w/w for the three Gram-positive strains tested and between 0.024% and
Received: September 29, 2024
0.39% w/w for the four Gram-negative strains tested. Among all the bacterial strains tested,
Revised: November 23, 2024 Escherichia coli was found to be the most susceptible, with an MIC of 0.024% w/w. Upon
Accepted: December 13, 2024 treating LPS-activated THP-1-derived macrophages with DH, the levels of nitric oxide
were significantly diminished. Moreover, DH displayed a modest but significant cytostatic
Published Online: January 6, 2025
effect on the MDA-MB-231 cells. The most noticeable cytostatic impacts were observed at
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). concentrations of 4 mg/mL and 2 mg/mL, resulting in a decrease in cell viability by 25%
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the and 20%, respectively, compared to untreated control cells. A significant decline in the
Creative Commons Attribution migration rate of MDA-MB-231 cells was observed following DH treatment compared to
License, permitting distribution, control cells (P < 0.05). Our findings not only corroborate the well-established antibacterial
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properties of DH but also imply that its recognized anticancer advantages may be partially
properly cited. attributed to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytostatic, and antimigration effects.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Keywords: Hyphaene thebaica; Antibacterial; Antioxidant; Anticancer; Cytostatic; Anti-
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional inflammatory; Antimigration
affiliations.

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2025) 78 doi: 10.36922/mi.4994