Thanks to the variety of tree and plant species around the world, Propolis can have effects that are enhanced by specific species of tree resin. Fortunately, more regions of the world are discovering rich sources of healthy flavonoids in their Propolis...
Chemical
and Functional Characterisation of Propolis Collected from East Andalusia
(Southern Spain)
Journal of Phytochemical Analysis, 2013 May 14
INTRODUCTION:
Propolis is
a complex mixture of natural sticky, gummy and resinous components produced by
honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) from plant materials. However, phytochemical data
of the Andalusian (southern Spain) propolis are scant.
OBJECTIVE:
The primary
objectives of this study were to chemically characterise the compounds and
evaluate the anti-oxidant activity found in 28 Andalusian propolis samples.
METHODS:
Ethanol
extracts of propolis (EEP) were prepared and examined for their anti-oxidant activity
by 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) and
2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assays. To characterise the phenolic composition,
the presence of 11 compounds was identified by HPLC analysis with photodiode
array and mass spectrometric detection.
RESULTS:
All
propolis samples had strong anti-oxidant activity, accompanied by high total
phenolic content. The most abundant compounds were flavonoids. Concerning the
phenolic compounds content, our results showed that the 75% of the samples analysed
contained at least 80 mg/g of flavonoids, primarily pinobanksin 3-acetate,
pinocembrin, chrysin, galangin and pinobanksin. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester
was detected in almost all EEP samples but in smaller proportions (mean
12.9 ± 2.8 mg/g).
CONCLUSION:
The present
investigation constitutes the first comprehensive report on the phenolics
identified in southern Spanish propolis. The results revealed that the samples
tested showed a high scavenging activity and therefore indicate the possible
use of Andalusian propolis as an important source of natural anti-oxidants.
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