Plant genetic diversity by DNA barcoding to investigate propolis origin

• Published in: Phytochemistry (Oxford) Vol. 200; p. 113226
• Main Authors: Sartori, Alan Giovanini de Oliveira, Cesar, Aline Silva Mello, Woitowicz, Franciélli Cristiane Gruchowski, Saliba, Ana Sofia Martelli Chaib, Ikegaki, Masaharu, Rosalen, Pedro Luiz, Coutinho, Luiz Lehmann, Alencar, Severino Matias de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2022
• Subjects: Apis mellifera, metagenomics; Araucaria angustifolia, Araucariaceae; diterpenes; ESI-QTOF-MS; ITS2; phenolic compounds; Populus carolinensis, Salicaceae; ESI-QTOF-MS; Populus carolinensis, Salicaceae; phenolic compounds; ITS2; Apis mellifera, metagenomics; diterpenes; Araucaria angustifolia, Araucariaceae
• ISSN: 0031-9422; 1873-3700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2022.113226

Identify the botanical origins of a certain type of propolis may be challenging and time demanding, since it involves bee's behavior observation, plant resins collection and chemical analysis. Thus, this study aimed to determine the plant genetic materials in propolis from southern Brazil using the DNA barcoding to investigate their botanical origins, as well as to compare it with the phytochemical composition determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) and with the pollinic profile. As principal results, non-native Populus carolinensis Moench (Salicaceae) was almost the only DNA source in some propolis samples, which coincided with the presence of flavonoids typical from poplar exudates. Conversely, other propolis samples had DNA material coming mainly from native plant species, most of them characterized to the species level, although no specific chemical markers from those plants could be identified by UHPLC-HRMS. However, pollen from several plants identified by the DNA barcoding were extracted from some propolis samples. Despite the identification of typical diterpenes, DNA material from Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze (Araucariaceae), which have been indicated as a major resin source for propolis from preservation areas in southern Brazil, was found in very small abundancies, likely because bees do not drag tissue material containing DNA when collecting resin from this native species. In conclusion, DNA barcoding analysis successfully provided information about the provenance of propolis, although, depending on the plant resin sources, this information is likely to come from pollen. DNA barcoding to investigate the botanical origins of propolis from southern Brazil was studied and its results compared using the phytochemical composition and with the pollinic profile. [Display omitted] •DNA barcoding as alternative to identify resin sources of certain propolis.•DNA analysis identified Populus sp. but not Araucaria sp. in propolis.•Plant DNA material in some propolis is likely to come from pollen.•DNA barcoding as a tool to determine the origin of certain types of propolis.