Propolis, a resinous substance produced by honeybees from various plant sources, has been used for thousands of years in traditional medicine for several purposes all over the world. The precise composition of propolis varies according to plant source, seasons harvesting, geography, type of bee flora, climate changes, and honeybee species at the site of collection. This apiary product has broad clinical applications such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, analgesic, antidepressant, and anxiolytic as well asimmunomodulatory effects. It is also well known from traditional uses in treating purulent disorders, improving the wound healing, and alleviating many of the related discomforts. Even if its use was already widespread since ancient times, after the First and Second World War, it has grown even more as well as the studies to identify its chemical and pharmacological features, allowing to discriminate the qualities of propolis in terms of the chemical profile and relative biological activity based on the geographic place of origin. Recently, several in vitro and in vivo studies have been carried out and new insights into the pharmaceutical prospects of this bee product in the management of different disorders, have been highlighted. Specifically, the available literature confirms the efficacy of propolis and its bioactive compounds in the reduction of cancer progression, inhibition of bacterial and viral infections as well as mitigation of parasitic-related symptoms, paving the way to the use of propolis as an alternative approach to improve the human health. However, a more conscious use of propolis in terms of standardized extracts as well as new clinical studies are needed to substantiate these health claims.

No abstract

No abstract

Objective To explore potential natural products against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) via the study of structural and non-structural proteins of human coronaviruses. Methods In this study, we performed an in-silico survey of 25 potential natural compounds acting against SARS-CoV-2. Molecular docking studies were carried out using compounds against 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CL PRO ), papain-like protease (PL PRO ), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), non-structural protein (nsp), human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor (hACE2R), spike glycoprotein (S protein), abelson murine leukemia viral oncogene homolog 1 (ABL1), calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) and transmembrane protease serine 2. Results Among the screened compounds, amentoflavone showed the best binding affinity with the 3CL PRO , RdRp, nsp13, nsp15, hACE2R. ABL1 and calcineurin-NFAT; berbamine with hACE2R and ABL1; cepharanthine with nsp10, nsp14, nsp16, S protein and ABL1; glucogallin with nsp15; and papyriflavonol A with PL PRO protein. Other good interacting compounds were juglanin, betulinic acid, betulonic acid, broussooflavan A, tomentin A, B and E, 7-methoxycryptopleurine, aloe emodin, quercetin, tanshinone I, tylophorine and furruginol, which also showed excellent binding affinity towards a number of target proteins. Most of these compounds showed better binding affinities towards the target proteins than the standard drugs used in this study. Conclusion Natural products or their derivatives may be one of the potential targets to fight against SARS-CoV-2. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary materials (Appendixes 1–6) are available in the online version of this article at DOI: 10.1007/s11655-021-3504-5

No abstract