A Comparison between Characterization and Biological Properties of Brazilian Fresh and Aged Propolis

Abstract

Objective. As propolis is a highly valued bee product, we aimed to verify the quality of aged propolis, investigating their phenolic and flavonoid composition, levels of toxic metals, radical scavenging and antimicrobial activities. Material and Methods. Samples of fresh and aged propolis of six different beekeepers, from the same geographical location, were investigated in terms of their phenolic and flavonoid composition and levels of Pb, Cd, and Cr, as well as radical scavenging and antimicrobial activities. Results. The two groups of propolis had similar qualitative composition by HPLC-PDA and ESI(-)-MS. Fresh propolis and aged propolis show no differences when average values of extraction yield, flavonoids, EC50, or MIC were compared and both types of propolis showed good antimicrobial activity at low concentrations. Only levels of phenolic compounds were higher in fresh propolis. Conclusion. The propolis samples considered in this study, aged or fresh, had similar qualitative composition, although they were collected in different periods. Samples only differed in their levels of total phenolic content. Moreover, aged propolis conserves significant radical scavenging and antimicrobial properties. We suggest that aged propolis should not be discarded but explored for alternative applications.

Predictive mathematical modeling for EC50 calculation of antioxidant activity and antibacterial ability of Thai bee products

“…The present study revealed that these bee products seemed to inhibit the grampositive bacteria more than gram-negative. This is in an agreement with Brazilian propolis studied by Schmidt et al (2014). In general, plant extracts normally have a higher activity against gram-positive bacteria than gram-negative bacteria (Rahman et al, 2010).…”

Pharmacophagy and pharmacophory: mechanisms of self-medication and disease prevention in the honeybee colony (Apis mellifera)

“…Climate, local environment and plant origin are the major drivers of varying antibiotic activity, with wet-tropical rainforest-type climate propolis showing the strongest activity (Seidel et al 2008). The antibiotic activity seems to be very stable and the antibiotic effects of propolis showed no decline over time (Schmidt et al 2014). Metabolomic studies on cottonwood and balsam poplar resin detected neither significant seasonal nor regional changes in major compound composition, but the different resin donor species varied in inhibition of P. larvae (Wilson et al 2013).…”

Variability and Chemical Composition of Aerials Parts of Verbena minutiflora

“…() with some modifications (Schmidt et al . ). The reaction was carried out by direct dilution in the cuvette by adding a fixed volume (2.5 mL) of a solution of DPPH (absorbance 0.7 at 515 nm).…”

“…The total phenolic content was measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu method with some modifications (Schmidt et al 2014). Methanolic standard solutions of gallic acid were prepared from a stock solution at 1,000 mg/L.…”