Biological effects of propolis have been described mainly in relation to propolis antioxidant activity, antimicrobial effects, and cytotoxicity. Propolis has been extensively investigated, because its constituents exhibit several properties of interest for the scientific community. In 2012, red propolis from Alagoas and its extract were given a certificate of Geographical Indication by the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property. Propolis group 13, recently described in the northeastern region, is characterized by a strong red color and some other characteristics that set it apart from other propolis groups found in Brazil. Currently, 13 different groups of propolis can be distinguished in Brazil. ĭue to the great biodiversity of Brazil, propolis composition in different geographic regions varies, and several distinct propolis types have been described in this country. However, detailed studies of propolis constituents and their biological properties have been carried out only in recent decades. The use of propolis, a resinous substance collected by honeybees, for skin treatment and healing of wounds and ulcers has been reported since ancient times. The biological effects of ethanolic extracts of red propolis revealed in the present study suggest that red propolis can be a potential alternative therapeutic treatment against Chagas disease and some types of cancer, although high activity of red propolis in vitro needs to be confirmed by future in vivo investigations. Only ethanolic extracts of red propolis samples R01Et.B2 and R02Et.B2 showed a cytotoxic effect against all four cancer cell lines tested (HL-60, HCT-116, OVCAR-8, and SF-295), indicating that red propolis extracts have great cytotoxic potential. However, after 96 h, a persistent inhibitory effect was detected only for red propolis samples. An inhibitory effect of all tested ethanolic extracts on the growth of Trypanosoma cruzi Y strain epimastigotes was observed in the first 24 h. None of the extracts analyzed showed activity against Escherichia coli or Candida albicans. Most extracts demonstrated antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Red propolis extracts obtained by ethanolic and supercritical methods showed the highest levels of antimicrobial activity against several bacteria. Ethanolic extracts of red propolis exhibited up to 98% of the maximum antioxidant activity at the highest extract concentration. The extracts obtained by ethanolic extraction showed higher antioxidant activity than that shown by the extracts obtained by supercritical extraction. We found that propolis extracts obtained by both these methods showed concentration-dependent antioxidant activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and cytotoxic effects of extracts of red, green, and brown propolis from different regions of Brazil, obtained by ethanolic and supercritical extraction methods. Propolis is known for its biological properties and its preparations have been continuously investigated in an attempt to solve the problem of their standardization, an issue that limits the use of propolis in food and pharmaceutical industries.
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