Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Propolis from Brazilian Meliponinae

Twenty-one propolis samples produced by 12 different Meliponinae species were analyzed by GC-MS. Several chemical types of stingless bees’ propolis could be grouped, according to the prevailing type of compounds like: “gallic acid”, “diterpenic” and “triterpenic” types. The results confirm that neit...

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Published inZeitschrift für Naturforschung C. A journal of biosciences Vol. 55; no. 9; pp. 785 - 789
Main Authors Velikova, Milena, Bankova, Vassya, Marcucci, Maria C., Tsvetkova, Iva, Kujumgiev, Atanas
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Germany Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung 01.10.2000
Subjects
Animals
Antimicrobial Activity
Bees
Brazil
Candida albicans - drug effects
Candida albicans - growth & development
Diterpenes - analysis
Escherichia coli - drug effects
Escherichia coli - growth & development
Gallic Acid - analysis
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Meliponinae
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Propolis
Propolis - chemistry
Propolis - pharmacology
Species Specificity
Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects
Staphylococcus aureus - growth & development
Triterpenes - analysis
Brazil
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Summary:Twenty-one propolis samples produced by 12 different Meliponinae species were analyzed by GC-MS. Several chemical types of stingless bees’ propolis could be grouped, according to the prevailing type of compounds like: “gallic acid”, “diterpenic” and “triterpenic” types. The results confirm that neither the bee species nor the geographical location determine the chemical composition of Meliponinae propolis and the choice of its plant source, respectively. This could be explained by the fact that Meliponinae forage over short distances (maximum 500 m) and thus use as propolis source the first plant exudate they encounter during their flights. The antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities of the samples were also investigated. Most samples had weak or no activity against E. coli, weak action against Candida albicans. Some of them showed significant activity against St. aureus., presumably connected to the high concentration of diterpenic acids. Samples rich in diterpenic acids possessed also high cytotoxic activity (Artemia salina test).
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:0939-5075
1865-7125
DOI:10.1515/znc-2000-9-1018