Antioxidant, Cytotoxic, and Toxic Activities of Propolis from Two Native Bees in Brazil:Scaptotrigona depilisandMelipona quadrifasciata anthidioides

Abstract

Propolis is a natural mixture of compounds produced by various bee species, including stingless bees. This compound has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, antiproliferative, and antitumor activities. The present study aimed to determine the chemical constituents as well as the antioxidant, cytotoxic, and toxic activities of ethanol extracts of propolis obtained from the stingless bees Scaptotrigona depilis and Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides, which are found in Brazil. Phytosterols, terpenes, phenolic compounds, and tocopherol were identified in the ethanol extracts of propolis (EEPs) in different concentrations. The compounds stigmasterol, taraxasterol, vanilic acid, caffeic acid, quercetin, luteolin, and apigenin were found only in EEP-M. The EEPs were able to scavenge the free radicals 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and protected human erythrocytes against lipid peroxidation, with the latter effect being demonstrated by their antihemolytic activity and inhibition of malondialdehyde formation. The EEPs showed cytotoxic activity against erythroleukemic cells and necrosis was the main mechanism of death observed. In addition, the concentrations at which the EEPs were cytotoxic were not toxic against Caenorhabditis elegans. In this context, it is concluded that EEP-S and EEP-M show antioxidant and cytotoxic activities and are promising bioactive mixtures for the control of diseases associated with oxidative stress and tumor cell proliferation.

Phytochemical screening and in vitro antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and antitumor activities of the red propolis Alagoas

“…These results were higher than those described by Bonamigo et al (2017), that when assessing the ethanolic extract of propolis (collected from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul) obtained from the stingless bees Scaptotrigona depilis (EEP-S) and Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides (EEP-M), which are found in Brazil, demonstrated antioxidant activity percentage of 60% inhibition at a concentration of 60, 91 μg/mL for EEP-M and EEP-S demonstrated antioxidant activity percentage of 60% inhibition at a concentration of 300 μg/mL. Silva et al (2017) demonstrated ethanolic extract of red propolis R01Et.B2 (lot number L02, red color, Sergipe apiary, Brazil, resinous appearance) showed strong antioxidant activity of more than 95% at a concentration of 750 μg.mL -1 and R02.B2 (lot number L01, red color, Alagoas apiary, Brazil, resinous appearance) showed strong antioxidant activity of more than 80% at a concentration of 750 μg.mL -1 .…”

Chemical Composition Analysis and In Vitro Investigation of Cytotoxic and Antioxidative Activities of Iranian Propolis against Breast Cancer Cell Line, MCF‐7

“…In other study of Bonamigo et al. on Brazilian propolis, the IC 50 value was 60.91μg/ ml in the DPPH assay and 80.04–13.45 μg/ml in the ABTS assay . In another study, the ABTS assay and DPPH assay recorded a maximum activity of 94.34% and 85%, respectively, at an extract concentration of 25 μg/ml; the scavenging of the ABTS + radical by the extracts was found to be higher than that of the DPPH radical .…”

Uncovering Biological Application of Brazilian Green Propolis: A Phenotypic Screening against Schistosoma mansoni

“…[14] Its chemical composition is quite complex, knowing that it is affected by seasonality and botanical source. [15] There are several biological activities reported for propolis, such as anti-inflammatory, [16,17] antioxidant, [18,19] immunomodulatory, [20,21] antimicrobial, [22] antiviral, [23] antitumor, [24,25] and antiparasitic. [26][27][28] However, there are few studies with propolis as anthelmintic, especially against schistosomiasis.…”