Argentinean Propolis from Zuccagnia punctata Cav. (Caesalpinieae) Exudates: Phytochemical Characterization and Antifungal Activity

Abstract

This paper reports the in vitro antifungal activity of propolis extracts from the province of Tucuman (Argentina) as well as the identification of their main antifungal compounds and botanical origin. The antifungal activity was determined by the microdilution technique, using reference microorganisms and clinical isolates. All dermatophytes and yeasts tested were strongly inhibited by different propolis extracts (MICs between 16 and 125 microg mL(-1)). The most susceptible species were Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Trichophyton rubrum. The main bioactive compounds were 2',4'-dihydroxy-3'-methoxychalcone 2 and 2',4'-dihydroxychalcone 3. Both displayed strong activity against clinical isolates of T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes (MICs and MFCs between 1.9 and 2.9 microg mL(-1)). Additionally, galangin 5, pinocembrin 6, and 7-hydroxy-8-methoxyflavanone 9 were isolated from propolis samples and Zuccagnia punctata exudates, showing moderate antifungal activity. This is the first study matching the chemical profile of Z. punctata Cav. exudates with their corresponding propolis, giving strong evidence on the botanical origin of the studied propolis.

Chemical markers and antifungal activity of red propolis from Sergipe, Brazil

“…These results were strongly correlated with the pluviometric index (Figure 1, r=0.74, p=0.0065) and color parameter "a" (Figure 1, r=0.75, p=0.005). Depending on the environmental conditions, the availability of the natural products around the hive changes during the year (Agüero et al, 2010), which may be responsible for different yields. The most common type of propolis is dark-brown, but red propolis has been observed in tropical countries such as Brazil and Cuba (Lotti et al, 2010).…”

“…The composition of propolis has been reported to vary qualitatively and quantitatively with the geographical and botanical origins, seasons, genetic varieties of the queens and environmental factors (Agüero et al, 2010;Laskar et al, 2010;Miguel et al, 2010). In the temperate zone, the seasonal variations in propolis composition are predominantly quantitative, indicating that bees collect propolis from the same group of plants throughout the year (Miguel et al, 2010).…”

The in vitro antifungal evaluation of a commercial extract of Chilean propolis against six fungi of agricultural importance

“…The observed variability can be explained by the EEPs of a homemade product for which there is not requirement to declare the extraction process. In addition, the composition of propolis is influenced by the flora surrounding the apiary (Chaillou and Nazareno, 2009;Agüero et al, 2010), the geographical features and local climatic (Seidel et al, 2008) and seasonal effects (Valencia et al, 2012). The exogenous factors are related to the extraction by the beekeeper and include the harvest season (Simões-Ambrosio et al, 2010), the method used (Sales et al, 2006), the type of extractant (Tosi et al, 1996;Longhini et al, 2007) and the extractant concentration (Dos Santos et al, 2003).…”

Propolis non-volatile constituents: A Review

“…However there are reports which use positive mode so in that case [M+H] + is the pursued ion. Noteworthy is, that prior to any separation is usual to apply a direct infusion of the extract to the mass spectrometer so as to acquire an initial fingerprint which provides valuable information as regards the predominant ions, hypothesizing potential compounds that match to the latter (Aguero et al, 2010). Furthermore, spectrophotometric method has been proposed for the quantification of prenylated flavanones in propolis .…”

“…Aguero et al published a work on Argentinean propolis phytochemical characterization and evaluation of antifungal activity (Aguero et al, 2010). In that work propolis was methanol extracted and the extracts were subjected to fractionation by column chromatography.…”