The Addition of Propolis and Royal Jelly to Chestnut and Thyme Honey Reduces DNA Damage Induced by Food Mutagens in HepG2 Cells by the Comet Assay

N-nitrosamines and acrylamide are food mutagens classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A)” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) from evidence of carcinogenicity. One of the main objectives of food safety is to reduce the presence of these substances in food. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of the addition of propolis, royal jelly or a combination of both bee products (2–10%) to chestnut and thyme honey on their protective properties against food mutagen-induced genotoxicity. DNA damage was evaluated by the alkaline comet assay. N-nitrosamines (N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR)) and acrylamide (AA) induced genotoxicity in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. All tested samples at all concentrations used (0.1–10 µg/mL) decreased genotoxic effects of the three food mutagens. The protective effects of honey samples and mixtures towards DNA damage induced by food mutagens were in the following order: NDMA > AA > NPYR, being more effective against NDMA compared to AA and NPYR. The mixtures of chestnut honey with 10% propolis, or 10% royal jelly, and 10% propolis showed a greater protective effect against NDMA, NPYR and AA compared to the honey sample alone. This protective activity may be attributable to the phenolic compound content and antioxidant capacity exhibited by the analyzed samples. Overall, the results suggest that thyme and chestnut honey supplemented with bee-derived products could represent potential natural chemopreventive candidates against food-borne mutagens.