Chemical Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity of Green Propolis from the Brazilian Caatinga Biome

Overview

Journal Plants (Basel)

Date 2025 Jan 8

PMID 39771273

Authors

Jennyfer A Aldana-Mejia

Victor Pena Ribeiro

Kumar Katragunta

Bharathi Avula

Kiran Kumar Tatapudi

Jairo Kenupp Bastos

Ikhlas A Khan

Kumudini Meepagala

Samir A Ross

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Green propolis, particularly from the unique flora of the Brazilian Caatinga biome, has gained significant interest due to its diverse chemical composition and biological activities. This study focuses on the chemical characterization and antimicrobial evaluation of Caatinga green propolis. Twelve compounds were isolated through different chromatographic techniques, including flavanones (naringenin, 7--methyleriodictyol, sakuranetin), flavones (hispidulin, cirsimaritin), flavonols (quercetin, quercetin-3-methyl ether, kaempferol, 6-methoxykaempferol, viscosine, penduletin), and one chalcone (kukulkanin B). Using liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (LC-QToF-MS), a total of 55 compounds excluding reference standards were tentatively identified, which include flavonoids, phenolic acids derivatives, and alkaloids, with flavonols, flavanones, and flavones being predominant. Antimicrobial testing against pathogens revealed that the crude extract exhibited low inhibitory activity, against Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant (VRE) (IC: 148.4 and 120.98 µg/mL, respectively). Although the isolated compounds showed limited individual activity, a fraction containing sakuranetin and penduletin (Fraction 8) exhibited moderated activity against (IC: 47.86 µg/mL), while a fraction containing quercetin and hispidulin showed moderated activity against VRE (IC: 16.99 µg/mL). These findings highlight the potential application of Caatinga green propolis as an antimicrobial agent, particularly against resistant bacterial strains, and underscore the importance of synergistic interactions between compounds in enhancing biological effects.

References

Xavier J, Valentim I, Camatari F, de Almeida A, Goulart H, Ferro J . Polyphenol profile by UHPLC-MS/MS, anti-glycation, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of several samples of propolis from the northeastern semi-arid region of Brazil. Pharm Biol. 2017; 55(1):1884-1893. PMC: 6131762. DOI: 10.1080/13880209.2017.1340962. View

Aldana-Mejia J, Ccana-Ccapatinta G, Pena Ribeiro V, Arruda C, Veneziani R, Ambrosio S . A validated HPLC-UV method for the analysis of phenolic compounds in Brazilian red propolis and Dalbergia ecastaphyllum. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2021; 198:114029. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114029. View

Sartori A, Son N, Honorio M, Ripari N, Basso Santiago K, Gomes A . Effects of caatinga propolis from Mimosa tenuiflora and its constituents (santin, sakuranetin and kaempferide) on human immune cells. J Ethnopharmacol. 2023; 319(Pt 2):117297. DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2023.117297. View

Sousa R, Oliveira C, Sousa R, Leite L, Oliveira A, Ferreira J . Unraveling the metabolomic profile and acute toxicity of ethanolic extract from Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. root bark. Toxicon. 2024; 249:108076. DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2024.108076. View

Avula B, Sagi S, Masoodi M, Bae J, Wali A, Khan I . Quantification and Characterization of Phenolic Compounds from Northern Indian Propolis Extracts and Dietary Supplements. J AOAC Int. 2020; 103(5):1378-1393. DOI: 10.1093/jaoacint/qsaa032. View

Salatino A, Salatino M, Negri G . How diverse is the chemistry and plant origin of Brazilian propolis?. Apidologie. 2021; 52(6):1075-1097. PMC: 8485119. DOI: 10.1007/s13592-021-00889-z. View

Wishart D, Guo A, Oler E, Wang F, Anjum A, Peters H . HMDB 5.0: the Human Metabolome Database for 2022. Nucleic Acids Res. 2022; 50(D1):D622-D631. PMC: 8728138. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab1062. View

Lotti C, Fernandez M, Piccinelli A, Cuesta-Rubio O, Hernandez I, Rastrelli L . Chemical constituents of red Mexican propolis. J Agric Food Chem. 2010; 58(4):2209-13. DOI: 10.1021/jf100070w. View

Ezz El-Din Ibrahim M, Alqurashi R . Anti-fungal and antioxidant properties of propolis (bee glue) extracts. Int J Food Microbiol. 2021; 361:109463. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109463. View

10.

Pena Ribeiro V, Arruda C, Aldana-Mejia J, Bastos J, Tripathi S, Khan S . Phytochemical, Antiplasmodial, Cytotoxic and Antimicrobial Evaluation of a Southeast Brazilian Brown Propolis Produced by Apis mellifera Bees. Chem Biodivers. 2021; 18(9):e2100288. DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202100288. View

11.

Correa F, Schanuel F, Moura-Nunes N, Monte-Alto-Costa A, Daleprane J . Brazilian red propolis improves cutaneous wound healing suppressing inflammation-associated transcription factor NFκB. Biomed Pharmacother. 2016; 86:162-171. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2016.12.018. View

12.

Cavalcante G, Camara C, Sarmento da Silva E, Santos M, Leite A, Queiroz A . Leismanicidal Activity of Propolis Collected in the Semiarid Region of Brazil. Front Pharmacol. 2021; 12:702032. PMC: 8281046. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.702032. View

13.

Ferreira J, Fernandes-Silva C, Salatino A, Negri G, Message D . New propolis type from north-east Brazil: chemical composition, antioxidant activity and botanical origin. J Sci Food Agric. 2017; 97(11):3552-3558. DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.8210. View

14.

Davis E, Hicks L, Ali I, Salzman E, Wang J, Snitkin E . Epidemiology of Vancomycin-Resistant and Colonization in Nursing Facilities. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020; 7(1):ofz553. PMC: 6979485. DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofz553. View

15.

Ferreira J, Fernandes-Silva C, Salatino A, Message D, Negri G . Antioxidant Activity of a Geopropolis from Northeast Brazil: Chemical Characterization and Likely Botanical Origin. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017; 2017:4024721. PMC: 5684561. DOI: 10.1155/2017/4024721. View

16.

To D, Hoang L, Nguyen H, Hoa T, Thuy N, Tran M . Dataset on the compounds from the leaves of Vietnamese and their anti-inflammatory activity. Data Brief. 2023; 51:109713. PMC: 10641128. DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2023.109713. View

17.

Araujo E Amariz I, Pereira E, Teixeira de Alencar Filho J, Silva J, Carvalho de Souza N, de Oliveira A . Chemical study of barks. Nat Prod Res. 2020; 36(7):1893-1897. DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2020.1813135. View

18.

Umsza-Guez M, Silva-Beltran N, Machado B, Balderrama-Carmona A . Herbicide determination in Brazilian propolis using high pressure liquid chromatography. Int J Environ Health Res. 2019; 31(5):507-517. DOI: 10.1080/09603123.2019.1670335. View

19.

Sforcin J, Bankova V . Propolis: is there a potential for the development of new drugs?. J Ethnopharmacol. 2010; 133(2):253-60. DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2010.10.032. View

20.

Daugsch A, Moraes C, Fort P, Park Y . Brazilian red propolis--chemical composition and botanical origin. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2008; 5(4):435-41. PMC: 2586321. DOI: 10.1093/ecam/nem057. View