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Phytochemical Profile and Properties Analysis of Propolis
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Phytochemical Profile and Properties Analysis of Propolis

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2024) | Viewed by 4236

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Piotr Okińczyc

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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacognosy and Herbal Medicines, Wroclaw Medical Univeristy, ul. Borowska 211a, 50-556 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: plant; propolis; LC-MS; LC-DAD; Populus ssp.; SPE
Dr. Jakub Szperlik

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Biological Sciences, Botanical Garden, University of Wrocław, 23 Sienkiewicza Str., 50-525 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: flax; Drosera ssp.; Dionea ssp.; Solidago ssp.; moss; in vitro culture; cell wall; plant metabolites; antioxidation; bee glue; biomedical products
Dr. Marco Biagi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environment, Earth and Physical Sciences, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, SI, Italy
Interests: medicinal plants; pharmaceutical biology; phytochemistry; extraction methods; bee products; italian flora; bioactive byproducts

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Propolis, also known as bee glue, is a resinous-waxy substance produced by different bee species. Most of the propolis worldwide is collected from honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). Due to multiple healing properties, propolis is widely used around the world. Its main activities include anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant and wound treatment. Dependences between composition and activity of bee glue are only partially known, despite its properties being well-known. There are many things which may impact propolis activity, but among the most important are plant precursors.

Propolis plant precursors are different resins, gums and exudates produced by plant organs. They may be produced in the physiological or pathological state of the plant (e.g. balsams). Most often, these exudates originate from plant buds, bark or sometimes flowers. Despite many potential plant precursors in local flora, bees exhibit a strong preference to collect specific types of material. For this reason, propolis usually derives from one or two main plant precursors. Therefore, it is possible to divide propolis in several types such as poplar type (Populus nigra L. and Populus species similar have exudates' composition).

As we described before, the plant origin of propolis is one of the most important factors, which affects propolis activity. Usually, propolis originates from one main plant precursor, but bees may also collect material from minor plant sources. Most of the published papers are mainly focused on searching for one main plant precursor, while minor precursors may also have significant impact on propolis activities. Therefore, the current issue is focused of different techniques of phytochemical research of propolis plant composition and tracking its potential plant precursors as well as searching for dependencies between composition and plant origin.

In summary, we encourage submission of manuscripts which are focused on analyzing propolis composition by different techniques (TLC-MS, LC-MS, GC-MS, etc.), detailed investigation of plant precursors and searching for dependences between plant composition and activity of propolis (chemometric and statistical analyses).

Dr. Piotr Okińczyc
Dr. Jakub Szperlik
Dr. Marco Biagi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Propolis
  • bee glue
  • plant precursor
  • analysis
  • HPLC
  • MS
  • MS/MS
  • GC
  • GC-MS
  • chemometry

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1381 KiB  
Article
Chemical Markers in Italian Propolis: Chrysin, Galangin and CAPE as Indicators of Geographic Origin
by Elisabetta Miraldi, Giorgio Cappellucci, Giulia Baini, Elia Silvia Pistone, Marika Allodi, Gabriele Costantino, Chiara Spaggiari and Marco Biagi
Plants 2024, 13(19), 2734; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13192734 - 29 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1104
Abstract
Knowledge of the chemical composition of propolis is crucial for understanding the characteristics of products of different origins, but also for quality control and regulatory purposes. To date, official monographs or official analyses that allow researchers to evaluate propolis in a proper way [...] Read more.
Knowledge of the chemical composition of propolis is crucial for understanding the characteristics of products of different origins, but also for quality control and regulatory purposes. To date, official monographs or official analyses that allow researchers to evaluate propolis in a proper way have not yet been released. This study focuses on the characterization of twenty-seven Italian propolis samples and the identification of chemical markers that define its geographical provenance. Total polyphenol (TP) and total flavonoid (TF) content, alongside the quantification of pinocembrin, chrysin, galangin, and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), were identified as potential markers. Additionally, DPPH assays were conducted to evaluate the antiradical activity of propolis samples. Our findings demonstrated that TPs, TFs and pinocembrin differed in propolis of different origins, especially in samples from the islands. However, the quantification of the sum of chrysin and galangin and CAPE provided a clearer distinction of the geographical origin of the propolis samples. In contrast, the DPPH assay did not prove useful for this purpose, as most results were similar and, therefore, not significant. This study lays the groundwork for future research on propolis. These findings could contribute to the development of more refined methods for distinguishing propolis origins, enhancing the understanding, valuation and quality control of this natural product in various applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemical Profile and Properties Analysis of Propolis)
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18 pages, 4286 KiB  
Article
Physicochemical Properties, Antioxidant Activity, and High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography Profiling of Propolis Samples from Western Australia
by Juliane Achenbach, Nicola Deyerling, Mariana Mello dos Santos, Sharmin Sultana, Md Khairul Islam and Cornelia Locher
Plants 2024, 13(14), 1919; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13141919 - 11 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1036
Abstract
This study reports on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of propolis samples from various regions across Western Australia and identifies some phenolic constituents using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using a modified Folin–Ciocalteu assay, and antioxidant activity was [...] Read more.
This study reports on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of propolis samples from various regions across Western Australia and identifies some phenolic constituents using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). Total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using a modified Folin–Ciocalteu assay, and antioxidant activity was investigated with the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay and also visualised and semi-quantified by HPTLC-DPPH analysis. TPC values ranged from 9.26 to 59.3 mg gallic acid equivalent/g of raw propolis and FRAP assay data from 4.34 to 53.8 mmol Fe2+ mmol/kg of raw propolis, although some of these variations might be related to differences in extraction yields obtained with 70% ethanol. The presence of luteolin, taxifolin, naringenin, and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid was confirmed based on a comprehensive, validated matching approach against an HPTLC-derived database. The findings of the study highlight the importance of future research on the chemical composition and bioactivity of Western Australian propolis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemical Profile and Properties Analysis of Propolis)
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14 pages, 367 KiB  
Article
Examination of Raw Samples and Ethanol Extracts of Gerês Propolis Collected in Different Years
by Ana Rita Caetano, Rafaela Dias Oliveira, Rui Filipe Cerqueira Pereira, Tiago Vidal Cardoso, Andreia Cardoso and Cristina Almeida-Aguiar
Plants 2023, 12(22), 3909; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12223909 - 20 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1514
Abstract
Propolis, a natural resin created by bees, has garnered significant attention from both the scientific community and industry due to an impressive range of bioactivities. Nonetheless, the intrinsic variability in its chemical composition and bioactive profiles has been hindering propolis’ full potential use. [...] Read more.
Propolis, a natural resin created by bees, has garnered significant attention from both the scientific community and industry due to an impressive range of bioactivities. Nonetheless, the intrinsic variability in its chemical composition and bioactive profiles has been hindering propolis’ full potential use. We previously showed that ethanol extracts (EEs) of a Portuguese propolis sample (Gerês) collected over four consecutive years displayed similar chemical and biological profiles, a constancy never documented before. However, the characteristics of the unprocessed samples of Gerês propolis were never described. Hence, the central objective of this study is to assess the quality parameters of unprocessed propolis samples collected from Gerês (G), over a four-year period (2019–2022), alongside the analysis of the chemical composition and bioactivities of the EEs prepared with the same raw samples. The ash, wax, balsam and water contents of the unprocessed samples—G19 to G22—showed minor fluctuations, likely attributed to uncontrollable natural events impacting the propolis source and collection process. On the other hand, the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of all the four ethanol extracts (G19.EE–G22.EE) consistently align with prior studies. Furthermore, the Gerês propolis extracts showed remarkable uniformity in chemical composition parameters too, particularly concerning total polyphenol, flavonoid and ortho-diphenol contents. In summary, our research reinforces the beneficial properties of propolis and show that extracts’ bioactivities remain within the reference ranges for Gerês propolis, despite minor differences in unprocessed samples, suggesting a consistent action over time. Thus, this work could be instrumental towards the establishment of standard parameters for propolis applications, offering valuable insights to this field of propolis research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemical Profile and Properties Analysis of Propolis)
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