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The Chemical and Biological Properties of Propolis

ABSTRACT: The term propolis comes from two Greek words, pro (which means for or in defence of) and polis (which means the city); thus, propolis means in defence of the city or beehive. Propolis is a sticky resinous substance, which is gathered from buds and the bark of trees. It is also known as “bee glue” as bees use it to cover surfaces, seal holes and close gaps in their hives, thus providing a sterile environment that protects them from microbes and spore-producing organisms, including fungi and molds. It can be considered to be a potent chemical weapon against bacteria, viruses, and other pathogenic microorganisms that may invade the bee colony. Also, bees use propolis as an embalming substance, to mummify invaders such as other insects, that have been killed and are too heavy to remove from the colony. Thus, propolis is important for bee health but it also has activity against many human diseases. It is a powerful anti-oxidant and can modulate the activity of reactive oxygen species within the human body. The most studied aspect of propolis is its anti-bacterial activity, which is almost always present at a moderate to high level depending on the exact type of propolis. It is in general more active against Gram positive than Gram negative bacteria, but activity against Gram negative bacteria has been observed. Propolis has been found to be active against a range of viruses and also is almost always active against protozoa such as Tryanosoma brucei and Leishmania donovani. Propolis also shows activity against cardiovascular diseases and diabetes and has immunomodulatory effects. Anti-cancer activity has also been observed. In summary, propolis is remarkable for its range of biological activities and for the variety of its chemical composition. It may be of great importance both to bees and humans.

SUBMITTER: Alvarez-Suarez J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7123330 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundPropolis (bee glue) is a resinous honeybee product having a long history of application in many countries as a traditional remedy for treating wounds, burns, soar throat, stomach disorders, etc. It has been proved to possess beneficial biological effects, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, antiulcer, and many others. Bees gather propolis from diverse resinous plant parts and in different phytogeographic regions its chemical composition might vary significantly. In this article we report the results of the first study on the chemical profiles of propolis from Oman, its plant origin and antibacterial activity.ResultsThe chemical profiles of Omani propolis extracts were obtained by GC-MS analysis after silylation. Over 50 individual compounds were identified in the samples, belonging to different compound types: sugars, polyols, hydroxy acids, fatty acids, cardanols and cardols, anacardic acids, flavan derivatives, triterpenes, prenylated flavanones and chalcones. The profiles were dissimilar from other known propolis types. They demonstrate that although Oman is not a large country, the plant sources of propolis vary significantly, even in the same apiary and the same season. Based on chemical profiles, and isolation and identification of major marker compounds (new propolis constituents), new plant sources of propolis were found: Azadiracta indica (neem tree) and Acacia spp. (most probably A. nilotica). The ethanol extracts of the studied propolis samples demonstrated activity against S. aureus (MIC?<?100 ?g. mL-1) and E. coli (MIC?<?380 ?g. mL-1).ConclusionOmani propolis is different form the known propolis types and demonstrates significant chemical diversity. Its most important plant source is the resin of Azadirachta indica, and as a result its typical components are ?5-prenyl flavanones. Other plant sources have been identified, too, playing some role in resin collection by bees in Oman: Acacia spp. (most probably A. nilotica) and Mangifera indica. The results demonstrate also the potential of Omani propolis as antimicrobial.

Project description:Propolis is a natural product with many demonstrated biological activities and propolis extract has been used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Different works have showed the variations in the chemical composition, and consequently, on the biological activity of the propolis that are associated with its type and geographic origin. Due to this study evaluated propolis extracts obtained through supercritical extraction and ethanolic extraction (conventional) in three samples of different types of propolis (red, green and brown), collected from different regions in Brazil (state of Bahia). Analyses were performed to determine the humidity, water activity, the content of total ash, proteins, lipids and fiber in raw propolis samples. The content of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, in vitro antioxidant activity (DPPH), catechin, ferulic acid and luteolin and antimicrobial activity against two bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) were determined for all extracts. For the green and red ethanolic extracts the anti-leishmanicidal potential was also evaluated. The physicochemical profiles showed agreement in relation to the literature. The results identified significant differences among the extracts (p>0.05), which are in conformity with their extraction method, as well as with type and botanical origin of the samples. The extraction with supercritical fluid was not efficient to obtain extracts with the highest contents of antioxidants compounds, when compared with the ethanolic extracts. The best results were shown for the extracts obtained through the conventional extraction method (ethanolic) indicating a higher selectivity for the extraction of antioxidants compounds. The red variety showed the largest biological potential, which included the content of antioxidants compounds. The results found in this study confirm the influence of the type of the raw material on the composition and characteristics of the extracts. The parameters analysis were important to characterize and evaluate the quality of the different Brazilian propolis extracts based on the increased use of propolis by the natural products industry.

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The Chemical and Biological Properties of Propolis

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