Antonio Salatino
Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Nat Prod Chem Res
Propolis is a product of honeybees containing beeswax, resinous material derived from plant buds or exudates and other materials, such as pollen and amino acids. Plant derived constituents of propolis account for a wide diversity of biological activities. These include antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer, wound healing, antitumoral and immunostimulant effects. Propolis produced in Brazil is among the most studied and consumed in the world. Brazilian propolis comprises a wide diversity of chemical types. The most known is green propolis, produced mainly in central and southeast Brazil, derived from buds of Baccharis dracunculifolia and containing caffeoylquinic acids and prenylated phenylpropanoids. Red propolis from the littoral of the country derives from exudates of Dalbergia ecastophyllum and contains chiefly chalcones and isoflavonoids. In many parts of Brazil, brown types of propolis are produced. Many among these types of propolis contain triterpenoids (lupeol, lupenone, amyrins, among other triterpenoids). Brown propolis from Manaus (state of Amazonas) is chemically similar to Venezuelan and Cuban propolis, with predominance of polyprenylated benzophenones. Propolis from the south of Brazil contains flavonoids found also in temperate regions, derived from exudates of the apical buds of Populus spp. Several other types of Brazilian brown propolis have been characterized chemically. Two examples are the propolis from the state of Piauí, containing flavanones and glycosylflavones, and propolis from Goiás, containing chiefly prenylated flavones and flavonols. A pharmacologically interesting component of propolis is its volatile fraction, whose content and composition varies widely according to locality and plant origin. FAPESP, CNPq
Email: asalatin@ib.usp.br
