Recent Progress of Propolis for Its Biological and Chemical Compositions and Its Botanical Origin

Abstract

Propolis is the generic name given to the product obtained from resinous substances, which is gummy and balsamic and which is collected by bees from flowers, buds, and exudates of plants. It is a popular folk medicine possessing a broad spectrum of biological activities. These biological properties are related to its chemical composition and more specifically to the phenolic compounds that vary in their structure and concentration depending on the region of production, availability of sources to collect plant resins, genetic variability of the queen bee, the technique used for production, and the season in which propolis is produced. Many scientific articles are published every year in different international journal, and several groups of researchers have focused their attention on the chemical compounds and biological activity of propolis. This paper presents a review on the publications on propolis and patents of applications and biological constituents of propolis.

Antimicrobial Activity of Propolis From Tabora and Iringa Regions, Tanzania and Synergism with Gentamicin

“…Propolis contains a variety of compounds, some of which are terpenes, flavonoids and other phenolics (Marcucci, 1995;Bankova et al, 2000). Previous studies have also shown that the chemical composition of propolis varies with geographical origin, botanical source and bee species (Bankova, 2005;Silici and Kutluca, 2005;Salatino et al, 2011;Fernandes-Silva et al, 2013;Toreti et al, 2013). Propolis serves as a beehive protective barrier against microbial contamination and a sealant for unwanted small gaps in the beehive (Bankova, 2005).…”

Effects of seasonal variations and collection methods on the mineral composition of propolis from Apis mellifera Linnaeus Beehives

“…It is collected by bees from flowers, buds, and exudates of plants and is known to have a broad spectrum of biological properties (Mello and Hubinger, 2012;Toreti et al, 2013).…”

“…The quality and amount of propolis produced are linked to seasonal variations, methods of collection (Inoue et al, 2007;Toreti et al, 2013), geographical diversity, plant sources, and bee species (Mello and Hubinger, 2012).…”

“…Propolis is a well-known antioxidant used in the food and drug industry (Simões-Ambrosio et al, 2010;Toreti et al, 2013;Huang et al, 2014). The regional chemical composition of propolis can interfere in its biological properties (Simões-Ambrosio et al, 2010;Toreti et al, 2013;Bankova et al, 2014, Souza et al, 2014.…”

“…The regional chemical composition of propolis can interfere in its biological properties (Simões-Ambrosio et al, 2010;Toreti et al, 2013;Bankova et al, 2014, Souza et al, 2014. The presence of phenolic compounds, steroids, terpenes, and amino acids in propolis has been extensively studied (Sawaya et al, 2011;Finger et al, 2014).…”