Argentine propolis: Its flavonoid and chalcone content and its relation with the functional propertie

MARÍA INÉS ISLA; MARÍA INÉS NIEVA MORENO; IRIS CATIANA ZAMPINI; ELIANA SOLÓRZANO; FATIMA CAROLINA DANERT; NANCY VERA; JORGE SAYAGO; ENRIQUE BEDASCARRABURE; LUIS MALDONADO; ROXANA MABEL ORDOÑEZ

Beneficial effects of propolis on human health and chronic diseases

Nova Science Publisher

Lugar: New York; Año: 2013; p. 161 - 169

In recent years there has been renewed interest in Argentina about of chemical composition and biological properties of Argentine propolis, a resinous material collected by honey bee that can be regarded as a potential natural source of bioactive in folk medicine and in food industry. Argentina has a diverse climate that is expressed in multiple regions phytogeographic, hence, propolis from the Northwest, West, Center and South of Argentina would have different chemical composition and consequently, different biological properties. Furthermore, the propolis quality is intimately related to the methods and season of harvesting, and storage tasks performed by the beekeper. Various studies have shown that the propolis from Argentina contain a high level of polyphenolic compounds, principally, flavonoids and its derivates, phenolic acid and lignans. Antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, free radical scavenging and antimutagenic activities were demonstrated in propolis from differents argentine regions (provinces of Catamarca, Chaco, Entre Rios, Jujuy, Mendoza, Misiones, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán). Recently has been reported that the chemical components responsible for some of functional properties of Argentinean Northwest propolis are flavonoids principally chalcones and flavones with different grade of hydroxylation and methoxylation while in the propolis from province of San Juan the principal bioactives components are lignans and flavonoids. The findings on bioactivities and chemical composition of argentine propolis support their potential use in functional food and complementary medicine.