Propolis is one of the most fascinating honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) products. It is a plant derived product that bees\ud produce from resins that they collect from different plant organs and with which they mix beeswax. Propolis is a building\ud material and a protective agent in the bee hive. It also plays an important role in honey bee social immunity, and is\ud widely used by humans as an ingredient of nutraceuticals, over-the-counter preparations and cosmetics. Its chemical\ud composition varies by geographic location, climatic zone and local flora. The understanding of the chemical diversity of\ud propolis is very important in propolis research. In this manuscript, we give an overview of the available methods for\ud studying propolis in different aspects: propolis in the bee colony; chemical composition and plant sources of propolis;\ud biological activity of propolis with respect to bees and humans; and approaches for standardization and quality control\ud for the purposes of industrial application

Despite the dissimilar polyphenol compositions of CP and BP, their ability to protect against DSS-induced colitis is similar. Nevertheless, some different physiological impacts were observed.

No abstract

No abstract

Recently there has been a growing number of patents dealing with new solvents for preparing propolis extracts. This study aimed to prepare edible oil propolis extracts and compare their chemical composition and biological activity with ethanolic propolis extracts. ESI-MS and spectrophotometric methods were used for qualitative and quantitative analyses, respectively. Antibacterial activity was evaluated by diffusion in agar. Cytotoxicity was tested by MTT assay using tumor cell lines. The oil is able to extract bioactive compounds from propolis. Further studies are needed to improve extraction efficiency and to characterize the active components.Keywords: oil propolis extract; phenolic compounds; antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. introduçãoA própolis é uma resina de ampla utilidade para as abelhas e para o homem.1,2 A composição química da própolis é complexa e está relacionada com a flora da região em que foi originada e a época da coleta.3-6 Sua atividade farmacológica tem sido atribuída aos compostos fenólicos, entre eles flavonóides e ácidos fenólicos, cujos teores têm sido propostos como parâmetros para o controle da qualidade. 7,8 Devido às inúmeras propriedades benéficas da própolis, o seu uso comercial em produtos farmacêuticos, cosméticos e de higiene pessoal na forma de extratos líquidos é amplo. Para a elaboração desses produtos, é comumente utilizado o extrato obtido com álcool de cereais 70% v/v e tempos de extração que variam de 1 dia até 6 meses.9 Entretanto, a presença de álcool na formulação confere um sabor não agradável para alguns consumidores.Buscando superar esses inconvenientes, têm surgido muitas patentes que propõem novos métodos de extração da própolis com baixo teor alcoólico ou isento de álcool. [10][11][12][13][14][15] Dentre as alternativas propostas, destaca-se o extrato de própolis obtido com óleo vegetal, o qual conserva bem as características organolépticas da própolis e possibilita a apresentação do produto em cápsulas gelatinosas. Existe uma dúvida, porém, quanto à eficiência do óleo comestível em extrair os principais compostos bioativos da própolis e se os produtos elaborados com o extrato oleoso possuem ou não as propriedades farmacológicas adequadas para a finalidade à qual são destinados.Neste trabalho avaliamos o extrato oleoso de própolis quanto a sua composição química qualitativa e quantitativa de compostos fenólicos extraídos e comparamos os resultados com aqueles obtidos de diferentes extratos etanólicos de própolis. Este estudo empregou as técnicas de espectrometria de massas com ionização por electrospray (ESI-MS) e espectrofotometria no UV-VIS. Como as atividades antibacteriana e citotóxica de extratos hidroalcoólicos e de alguns compostos isolados de própolis são bem conhecidas, 2 procurou-se avaliar se o extrato oleoso também possuía essas atividades. Neste trabalho o extrato oleoso da própolis foi, então, avaliado in vitro em diferentes cepas de organismos patogênicos e em linhagens de célu-las tumorais humanas para estimar suas atividades antibacteriana...

Passiflora species presents a coevolutive relationship with Heliconiini butterflies, their primary herbivores. The Heliconiini caterpillars are able to detoxify toxic compounds produced by Passiflora, thus morphological defense strategies stand out over chemical innovations. In this framework, we highlight the presence of mimetic structures and extrafloral nectaries (EFN) as morphological strategies. Heliconian butterflies oviposit only on leaves that do not possess previous eggs, so the presence of egg mimics could prevent the oviposition. EFN are glands that offer nectar to territorial and aggressive ants, establishing mutualistic relationships. Here, we present a structural and chemical analysis of petiolar EFN and nectar from Passiflora alata and P. edulis in order to have insights about the implications of these features in deterring heliconian caterpillars. P. alata have one to four stipitate-crateriform EFN while P. edulis possess a pair of convex glands. Butterflies lay their eggs isolatedly or in up to three on leaves of both species. Our morphological results suggest that EFN from P. alata may act as egg mimics. Ontogenetic data suggest that the variation in the number of glands observed in this species is a serial homology, wherein the selection pressure for this variation is possibly the oviposition pattern. P. alata retain alkaloids, flavonoids and terpenoids inside nectariferous cells; sugars and flavonoids are found in the nectar of both species, while alkaloids are also detected in P. edulis. There is a selective retention/release of secondary metabolites from the EFN tissues to nectar. Knowing that these compounds can be dissuasive to some herbivores and inoffensive to others, we plotted this relationship in a consumer growth versus secondary metabolite concentration diagram. Our results suggest a more active role in the modulation of the gland defense from plants besides the establishment of a mutualistic relationship with ants, an important response in a coevolutive scenario.

Flavonoids are a class of natural polyphenolic compounds which cannot be synthesized by humans. These substances possess a series of biological properties, acting on biological systems as antioxidants. The purpose of this study was to analyze the properties of certain foods, determining the total flavonoids as well as their antioxidant activity and fat concentration. We evaluated several foods purchased at the local market, with respect to its antioxidant activity, using two experimental models, the discoloration of DPPH˙ radical and ABTS −. Some foods such as pitanga showed antioxidant activity. The lipid content of fatty foods like açaí, cacao and cupuaçú was determined. Other foods, including pitanga, açaí, cacao and cupuaçú, were evaluated for flavonoid content and antioxidant activity using multivariate statistical analysis (PCA) as a statistical tool to evaluate the correlation between these two parameters. As samples with ED50 up to 500 µg/mL show promising antioxidant activity, several Brazilian fruit and vegetables could be consumed to this end, with a good correlation between flavonoid content and antioxidant activity in most samples. The daily dose of different types of food for antioxidant activity has been calculated based on these results.

Species and hybrids of Eucalyptus are the world's most widely planted hardwood trees. They are cultivated across a wide range of latitudes and therefore environmental conditions. In this context, comprehensive metabolomics approaches have been used to assess how different temperature regimes may affect the metabolism of three species of Eucalyptus, E. dunnii, E. grandis and E. pellita. Young plants were grown for 53 d in the greenhouse and then transferred to growth chambers at 10°C, 20°C or 30°C for another 7 d. In all three species the leaf chlorophyll content was positively correlated to temperature, and in E. pellita the highest temperature also resulted in a significant increase in stem biomass. Comprehensive metabolomics was performed using untargeted gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) and liquid chromatography (LC)‐MS. This approach enabled the comparison of the relative abundance of 88 polar primary metabolites from GC‐MS and 625 semi‐polar secondary metabolites from LC‐MS. Using principal components analysis, a major effect of temperature was observed in each species which was larger than that resulting from the genetic background. Compounds mostly affected by temperature treatment were subsequently selected using partial least squares discriminant analysis and were further identified. These putative annotations indicated that soluble sugars and several polyphenols, including tannins, triterpenes and alkaloids were mostly influenced.