Gastroprotective Effect of Geopropolis fromMelipona scutellarisIs Dependent on Production of Nitric Oxide and Prostaglandin

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the gastroprotective activity of ethanolic extract of geopropolis (EEGP) from Melipona scutellaris and to investigate the possible mechanisms of action. The gastroprotective activity of the EEGP was evaluated using model ulcer induced by ethanol. To elucidate the possible mechanisms of action, we investigated the involvement of the nonprotein sulfhydryl (NP-SH) groups, nitric oxide and prostaglandins. In addition, the antisecretory activity of EEGP was also evaluated by pylorus ligated model. The EEGP orally administrated (300 mg/kg) reduced the ulcerative lesions induced by the ethanol (P < 0.05). Regarding the mechanism of action, the prior administration of nitric oxide and prostaglandins antagonists suppressed the activity of gastroprotective EEGP (P < 0.05). On the other hand the gastroprotective activity of EEGP was kept in the group pretreated with the antagonist of the NP-SH groups; furthermore the antisecretory activity was not significant (P > 0.05). These results support the alternative medicine use of geopropolis as gastroprotective and the activities observed show to be related to nitric oxide and prostaglandins production.

Cardanols detected in non-polar propolis extracts from Scaptotrigona aff. postica (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini)

“…The chemical composition of propolis varies according to the flora visited by the bees, the region, and the time of collection (Huang et al, 2014;Pasupuleti et al, 2017). Consequently, their quality and biological activities vary according to their botanical origin (Araújo et al, 2015;Ribeiro-Junior et al, 2015). The chemical composition of propolis from Apis mellifera is qualitatively the same in the geographic region where it was produced.…”

“…On the other hand, in general, propolis from stingless bees exhibits a wide variation even among samples from the same region, since they collect material from plants near their hives (Araújo et al, 2015;Ribeiro-Junior et al, 2015). Thus, for example, cycloartane, ursane and oleanane derivatives and phenolic acids (protocatechuic acid and gallic acid) were detected in the geopropolis from Melipona fasciculata harvested in Palmeirândia, while gallic and ellagic acids were the main constituents detected in the geopropolis harvested in Fernando Falcão, both municipalities located in Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil (Batista et al, 2016).…”

“…Qualitative and quantitative differences in the chemical composition of propolis can influence its biological activity (Santos et al, 2017b;Franchin et al, 2012). However, the propolis produced by different species of stingless bees in different regions of the world, exhibit antimicrobial (Cunha et al, 2013a), anticancer, antioxidant (Ferreira et al, 2017), anti-inflammatory (Araújo et al, 2015;Santos et al, 2017aSantos et al, , 2017bSantos et al, , 2017c, gastroprotective (Ribeiro-Junior et al, 2015), and antiviral (Coelho et al, 2015) activities. The geopropolis produced by Melipona fasciculata Smith exhibited antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans (Liberio et al, 2011).…”

Characterisation of phenolic compounds by UPLC‐QTOF‐MS/MS of geopropolis from the stingless bee Melipona subnitida (jandaíra)

“…The therapeutic properties of the geopropolis produced by different species of stingless bees have been described. The activities of geopropolis collected from the following species were related: from M. scutellaris , which presented gastroprotective and antimicrobial activities; M. fasciculata , which presented gastroprotective, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities; M. orbignyi , which presented antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti‐inflammatory activities; M. scutellaris , which presented anti‐inflammatory activities; and Scaptotrigona postica , which presented antiviral activities …”

“…9 The therapeutic properties of the geopropolis produced by different species of stingless bees have been described. The activities of geopropolis collected from the following species were related: from M. scutellaris, which presented gastroprotective 10 and antimicrobial 11 activities; M. fasciculata, which presented gastroprotective, 10 antioxidant, 7,11 antimicrobial, 12 and anticancer 13 activities; M. orbignyi, which presented antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities; 9 M. scutellaris, which presented anti-inflammatory activities; 14,15 and Scaptotrigona postica, which presented antiviral activities. 8 Studies investigating the geopropolis produced by M. subnitida collected in the state of Paraiba, north-eastern Brazil, have shown potential antioxidant and antinociceptive activities 16 leading to the isolation and characterisation of phenylpropanoids…”