Antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activity of propolis of different geographic origin

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology Vol. 64; no. 3; pp. 235 - 240
• Main Authors: Kujumgiev, A, Tsvetkova, I, Serkedjieva, Yu, Bankova, V, Christov, R, Popov, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.03.1999; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial activity; Antifungal activity; Antifungal Agents - pharmacology; Antiviral activity; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Antiviral Agents - toxicity; Biological and medical sciences; Candida albicans - drug effects; Cell Culture Techniques; Chick Embryo; drugs; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Fibroblasts - virology; Flavonoids - analysis; General pharmacology; Influenza A virus - drug effects; Medical sciences; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phenols - analysis; Propolis; Propolis - pharmacology; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Antifungal activity; Antibacterial activity; Propolis; Antiviral activity; Toxicity; Insecta; Apidae; Animal origin; In vitro; Biological activity; Apis mellifera; Antifungal agent; Apoidea; Arthropoda; Antiviral; Chemical composition; Hymenoptera; Invertebrata; Antibacterial agent; Comparative study; Geographical variation; Aculeata
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/S0378-8741(98)00131-7

Propolis samples from different geographic origins were investigated for their antibacterial (against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli), antifungal (against Candida albicans) and antiviral (against Avian influenza virus) activities. All samples were active against the fungal and Gram-positive bacterial test strains, and most showed antiviral activity. The activities of all samples were similar in spite of the differences in their chemical composition. In samples from the temperate zone, flavonoids and esters of phenolic acids are known to be responsible for the above mentioned activities of bee glue; tropical samples did not contain such substances but showed similar activities. Obviously, in different samples, different substance combinations are essential for the biological activity of the bee glue. It seems that propolis has general pharmacological value as a natural mixture and not as a source of new powerful antimicrobial, antifungal and antiviral compounds.