Assessment of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Selected Greek Propolis Samples (North East Aegean Region Islands)

Abstract

Propolis is a bee-produced substance rich in bioactive compounds, which has been utilized widely in folk medicine, in food supplement and cosmetology areas because of its biological properties, (antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, etc.). The subject of this study is associated with the chemical analysis and the biological evaluation of 16 propolis samples from the northeast Aegean region Greek islands, a well-recognized geographic area and the homeland of rich flora as a crossroads between Europe and Asia. Our study resulted in the detection of a significant percentage of diterpenes by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), while flavonoids were identified in low percentages among studied samples. Furthermore, the DPPH assay highlighted that eight of the samples (Lesvos and Lemnos origin) demonstrated a promising antioxidant profile, further verified by their total phenolic content (TPC). Additionally, the propolis samples most rich in diterpenes showed significant antibacterial and fungicidal properties against human pathogenic microorganisms, proving them to be a very interesting and promising crude material for further applications, concluding that floral diversity is the most responsible for the bioactivity of the propolis samples.

Biochemical Profile and Antioxidant Properties of Propolis from Northern Spain

“…However, the chemical analyses revealed that resins were the principal component involving more than a third % of the samples presenting values above 70%. This implies similar values concerning propolis collected in the center and east of Europe (Poland, Romania, and Georgia) [55][56][57] and higher values compared to propolis from regions with Mediterranean climatic conditions (Morocco, Portugal, and Greece) [28,58,59].…”

“…All of these compounds have been studied as marker compounds [13,25,61]. In addition, the botanical origin, the phenolic content, and the profile of the majority constituents are linked to the bioactive activity, especially to the antioxidant capacity [47,58].…”

“…Our findings reflect the correspondence between the botanical source and the biological components. Previous work has established that Mediterranean propolis is abundant in polyphenols, flavonoids, and flavones, while other bioactive substances, such as diterpenoids, isoflavones, and other flavonols, are abundant in non-European samples [20,26,58].…”