Hitherto unknown biological properties and the chemical composition of the essential oil isolated from propolis of Indian origin were established. GC/MS Analysis of the essential oil revealed the presence of 32 constituents, of which ten were major compounds, nine had intermediate contents, and 13 were minor compounds. With the exception of six minor constituents, that could not be identified, their identification was based on the comparison of their mass spectra and Kovats retention indices with those listed in the NIST and Wiley mass spectral libraries. Their structural assignment was confirmed by GC/MS co-injection of the essential oil with authentic compounds. Quantification of the components was done by GC-FID analyses. Moreover, the essential oil was shown to possess repellent activity against the honeybee Apis florea. The activity was found to be dose dependent. The average repellency (ΔR) increased with increasing essential-oil concentration up to 24 μg/ml and remained constant for the formulation with the higher concentration. These findings established the chemical constitution of the essential oil and might be useful to beekeepers for the improvement of the bee management.

Antioxidant properties shown by volatile oil of propolis (VOP) from India were investigated by spectrophotometric methods (ABTS, DPPH and NO radical scavenging activity) and a photochemiluminescence (PCL) method (superoxide scavenging activity). It was seen that VOP exhibited superior TEAC activity to that of trolox at the concentration 0.2 mg/mL. It showed dose dependent DPPH radical scavenging activity and NO scavenging activity. It was observed that the overall NO scavenging activity shown by VOP was low which suggests that some of the compounds responsible for NO radical scavenging might be nonvolatile and might not be present in VOP. The superoxide scavenging activity of VOP was determined on nano scale by PCL method. These results indicate that superoxide scavenging activity was more efficient in dilute solutions of VOP. The polyphenol content in the VOP samples was also determined. It was seen that polyphenol content may not be the exclusive cause for the antioxidant activity. From IC 50 values it could be concluded that the efficiency of scavenging ABTS radicals by the VOP was more pronounced as compared to scavenging other radicals. These findings indicate that VOP could be an easily accessible source of natural antioxidants.

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Propolis is a beehive product used in folk medicine. However, its composition and properties vary widely. Although anti-inflammatory activity of propolis collected from various regions of the world is reported, the potential of Indian propolis is not much explored. Present studies are carried out on propolis collected from Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra State, India. Determination of anti-inflammatory activity is carried out by topical 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) induced ear oedema and systemic carrageenan induced rat paw oedema model. To standardize the constitution of the fractions studied, HPTLC profile of each of the fractions and volatile oil is recorded. The total ethanolic extract, all the fractions and volatile oil of propolis examined show significant topical anti-inflammatory activity. Ethyl acetate soluble fraction (EAFP) is found to be the most active fraction. Systemic study of EAFP shows that the activity is dose dependent and the dose of 200 mg/kg showed more reduction in inflammation at 4 h than that due to the standard Indomethacin at the concentration of 10 mg/kg. Thus the potential of propolis studied as a natural anti-inflammatory agent is demonstrated. Actividad antiinflamatoria del propóleos de Maharashtra, India ResumenEl propóleos es un producto de la colmena utilizado en la medicina popular. Sin embargo, su composición y propiedades varían ampliamente.Aunque se ha informado sobre la actividad antiinflamatoria de los propóleos recogidos de diversas regiones del mundo, el potencial de los propóleos indios no está muy explorado. Los estudios actuales se están llevando a cabo en propóleos colectados en Mahabaleshwar, Estado de Maharashtra, India. La determinación de la actividad anti-inflamatoria se lleva a cabo por vía tópica con 12-O-tetradecanoilforbol-13acetato (TPA) inducido en edema de oreja y carragenina sistémica inducida en un modelo de edema de la pata de rata. Para estandarizar la constitución de las fracciones estudiadas, se registra el perfil de HPTLC de cada una de las fracciones y del aceite volátil. El extracto total etanólico, todas las fracciones y los aceites volátiles de propóleos examinados muestran tópica una actividad anti-inflamatoria significativa. En la fracción soluble en acetato de etilo (EAFP por sus siglas en inglés) se encontró la fracción más activa. El estudio sistémico de la EAFP muestra que la actividad es dependiente de la dosis y que la dosis de 200 mg/kg mostró una reducción mayor de la inflamación a las 4 h de que la debida a la indometacina estándar en una concentración de 10 mg/kg. Así, se ha demostrado el potencial de los propóleos estudiados como anti-inflamatorio natural.