Antiviral, Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Antiparasitic Properties of Propolis: A Review

Abstract

Propolis is a complex phytocompound made from resinous and balsamic material harvested by bees from flowers, branches, pollen, and tree exudates.Humans have used propolis therapeutically for centuries. The aim of this article is to provide comprehensive review of the antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties of propolis. The mechanisms of action of propolis are discussed. There are two distinct impacts with regards to antimicrobial and anti-parasitic properties of propolis, on the pathogens and on the host. With regards to the pathogens, propolis acts by disrupting the ability of the pathogens to invade the host cells by forming a physical barrier and inhibiting enzymes and proteins needed for invasion into the host cells. Propolis also inhibits the replication process of the pathogens. Moreover, propolis inhibits the metabolic processes of the pathogens by disrupting cellular organelles and components responsible for energy production. With regard to the host, propolis functions as an immunomodulator. It upregulates the innate immunity and modulates the inflammatory signaling pathways. Propolis also helps maintain the host’s cellular antioxidant status. More importantly, a small number of human clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy and the safety of propolis as an adjuvant therapy for pathogenic infections.

Antifungal Properties of Chemically Defined Propolis from Various Geographical Regions

“…Propolis has shown mainly antifungal [8,9,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], antibacterial [10,19,20,23,24], antiviral [20,[25][26][27][28][29], antiparasitic [5,20,30,31], anti-inflammatory [17,[32][33][34] and neuroprotective activity [35][36][37][38], and also anticancer properties [39][40][41][42].…”

Can Propolis Be a Useful Adjuvant in Brain and Neurological Disorders and Injuries? A Systematic Scoping Review of the Latest Experimental Evidence

“…However, we identified a case report where propolis appeared to induce psychotic episodes in a thirty-four-year-old male in Turkey [ 77 ]. Based on various human clinical trials in other areas of propolis research, propolis appears to be generally safe in humans [ 9 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 ]. Figure 4 summarizes the potential use of propolis as an adjuvant therapy in brain and neurological disorders and injuries.…”

“…Therefore, propolis appears to be a promising raw material for the future development of new therapeutic compounds. The biological activities and therapeutic properties of propolis are shown to be due to its content of plant secondary metabolite compounds such as phenolics and terpenoids [ 9 ].…”

Bee Venom, Honey, and Royal Jelly in the Treatment of Bacterial Infections of the Oral Cavity: A Review

“…The aim of writing this manuscript is to summarize up-to-date research on bee products influence on the treatment of oral cavity bacterial infections. Since the antibacterial activity of propolis against different bacterial strains is well and frequently described in other reviews [35][36][37][38], in this review, we focused on bee venom, honey, and royal jelly as possible candidates for use in maintaining oral hygiene and therapy of bacterial infections of the oral cavity. Thus, we mainly focused on the in-vitro assays using the bacterial strains responsible for oral cavity diseases and related to maintaining oral hygiene, and only few in-vivo studies were analyzed.…”