Anticancer properties of bromelain: State-of-the-art and recent trends

Raffaele Pezzani; Manuel Jiménez-Garcia; Xavier Capó; Eda Sönmez Gürer; Farukh Sharopov; Tchokouaha Yamthe Lauve Rachel; David Ntieche Woutouoba; Antonio Rescigno; Stefania Peddio; Paolo Zucca; Patrick Valere Tsouh Fokou; Miquel Martorell; Zehra Gulsunoglu-Konuskan; Alibek Ydyrys; Tynybekov Bekzat; Tussupbekova Gulmira; Christophe Hano; Javad Sharifi-Rad; Daniela Calina

doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.1068778

Anticancer properties of bromelain: State-of-the-art and recent trends

Front Oncol. 2023 Jan 9:12:1068778. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1068778. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Raffaele Pezzani^{1

2}, Manuel Jiménez-Garcia³, Xavier Capó⁴, Eda Sönmez Gürer⁵, Farukh Sharopov⁶, Tchokouaha Yamthe Lauve Rachel⁷, David Ntieche Woutouoba⁸, Antonio Rescigno⁹, Stefania Peddio⁹, Paolo Zucca⁹, Patrick Valere Tsouh Fokou¹⁰, Miquel Martorell^{11

12}, Zehra Gulsunoglu-Konuskan¹³, Alibek Ydyrys^{14

15}, Tynybekov Bekzat¹⁶, Tussupbekova Gulmira¹⁷, Christophe Hano¹⁸, Javad Sharifi-Rad¹⁹, Daniela Calina²⁰

Affiliations

¹ Phytotherapy Lab, Endocrinology Unit, Department of Medicine (DIMED), University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
² Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca Oncologica di Base (AIROB), Padova, Italy.
³ Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Biology Department, University of Balearic Islands (UIB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
⁴ Research Group in Community Nutrition and Oxidative Stress and Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), University of Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
⁵ Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey.
⁶ Research Institution "Chinese-Tajik Innovation Center for Natural Products" of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
⁷ Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies (IMPM), Yaounde, Cameroon.
⁸ Antimicrobial and Biocontrol Agents Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde, Yaounde, Cameroon.
⁹ Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
¹⁰ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Bamenda, Bambili, Cameroon.
¹¹ Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre for Healthy Living, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile.
¹² Universidad de Concepción, Unidad de Desarrollo Tecnológico, UDT, Concepción, Chile.
¹³ Faculty of Health Science, Nutrition and Dietetics Department, Istanbul Aydin University, Istanbul, Turkey.
¹⁴ Biomedical Research Centre, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
¹⁵ The Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States.
¹⁶ Department of Biodiversity and Bioresources, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
¹⁷ Department of Biophysics, Biomedicine and Neuroscience, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
¹⁸ Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Orleans, Chartres, France.
¹⁹ Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Azuay, Cuenca, Ecuador.
²⁰ Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova, Romania.

Abstract

Bromelain is a key enzyme found in pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.); a proteolytic substance with multiple beneficial effects for human health such as anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antioxidant and anticarcinogenic, traditionally used in many countries for its potential therapeutic value. The aim of this updated and comprehensive review focuses on the potential anticancer benefits of bromelain, analyzing the cytotoxic, apoptotic, necrotic, autophagic, immunomodulating, and anti-inflammatory effects in cancer cells and animal models. Detailed information about Bromelain and its anticancer effects at the cellular, molecular and signaling levels were collected from online databases such as PubMed/MedLine, TRIP database, GeenMedical, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The results of the analyzed studies showed that Bromelain possesses corroborated pharmacological activities, such as anticancer, anti-edema, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-coagulant, anti-osteoarthritis, anti-trauma pain, anti-diarrhea, wound repair. Nonetheless, bromelain clinical studies are scarce and still more research is needed to validate the scientific value of this enzyme in human cancer diseases.

Keywords: apoptosis; bromelain; cancer; chemotherapeutics; cytotoxicity; molecular targets.

Copyright © 2023 Pezzani, Jiménez-Garcia, Capó, Sönmez Gürer, Sharopov, Rachel, Ntieche Woutouoba, Rescigno, Peddio, Zucca, Tsouh Fokou, Martorell, Gulsunoglu-Konuskan, Ydyrys, Bekzat, Gulmira, Hano, Sharifi-Rad and Calina.

Publication types

Review