Analysis of bioactive compounds and chemical composition of Malaysian stingless bee propolis water extracts

Abstract

Propolis is a resinous substance collected by stingless bees containing bioactive compounds which exert various biological properties. The present study focused on the evaluation of chemical profiles produced by three Indo-Malayan stingless bee propolis extracted using water. Fresh propolis was collected from the same area and ecosystem conditions in Selangor, Malaysia, namely Tetrigona apicalis , Tetrigona binghami , and Heterotrigona fimbriata . The bioactive compounds and chemical composition of propolis extracts were then analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Results showed that propolis from the three different stingless bee species consisted of major groups such as sugar (31.4%), carboxylic acid (17.1%), terpenoid (14.3%), sugar alcohol (11.4%), hydrocarbon (5.7%), aldehyde (5.7%) amino acid (2.9%) and other constituents (11.4%). Heterotrigona fimbriata displayed the highest amount for both total phenolics (13.21 mg/mL) and flavonoids (34.53 mg/mL) compared to other propolis extracts. There is also no significant difference detected between all samples since p ≤ 0.05. In conclusion, this study shows that Malaysian stingless bee propolis contain bioactive components that have great potential to be used for their therapeutic and medicinal benefits. However, more investigations and analysis of stingless bee propolis need to be carried out in order to enhance the understanding and applications of propolis in the future.

Differences in the biochemical content and radical scavenging activity of propolis from different parts of a Meliponula ferruginea hive

“…They also play a major part in the biological activities of the propolis essential oil extract, such as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities [33]. The TTC in Indian propolis has been reported to be 1.5 to 3.8 LE mg/100 g, which is lower compared to our results [37]. The difference with our results can be attributed to the variation in vegetation.…”

Determination of total flavonoids, phenolics, and antioxidant activity of propolis from six stingless bee species in Kenya

“…In contrast, honey bees use wax to construct their combs. This corroborates the report on stingless bees producing large amounts of propolis compared to any other bee species 7,8 …”

“…This corroborates the report on stingless bees producing large amounts of propolis compared to any other bee species. 7,8 The chemical composition of propolis is dependent on several factors such as geographical location, species of bees, resin preference, plant species availability, and individual plant resin compositions. 9,10 It contains waxes, polyphenols such as phenolic acids and flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids with these contents being influenced by the vegetation at the site of collection.…”

Propolis extract as a green bacterial corrosion inhibitor on three types of metals

“…The GC flame ionization detector (FID) will provide a Total Respond Chromatogram (TRC) and the MS will provide specific analysis results at each TRC point or peak. Each peak point indicates the type of compound contained in the propolis extract which was then adjusted according to the Library NIST Mass Spectrometry Reference Database 14 (Pobiega et al 2019;Salleh et al 2021).…”

“…Previous studies of GC-MS analysis of propolis extract also reported similar results which revealed compounds such as sugars, carboxylic acids, terpenoids, sugar alcohols, hydrocarbons, aldehydes and amino acids. The main compound found in the propolis extract was sugar which is around 31.4% (Salleh et al 2021). Some types of reducing sugars include ribose, fructose, glucose, and galactose.…”