Volatile Constituents of Propolis from Honey Bees and Stingless Bees from Yucatán

Abstract

Volatiles of propolis from honey bees and stingless bees from Yucat??n were analyzed by the agency of GC and GC/MS. Ninety-nine volatiles were identified in the propolis from honey bees, whereas 94 were identified in stingless bees' propolis. It was place that in addition to yield variance of 16 and 465 mg/kg depending on origin, the propolis could be differentiated through their chemical composition. In particular, on the common constituents, ?±-pinene, ??-pinene, trans-verbenol, ?±-copaene, ??-bourbonene, ??-caryophyllene, spathulenol and caryophyllene oxide, which were ground in higher content in the propolis from stingless bees.

Key Word Index

Propolis, volatiles, honey bees, stingless bees.

Introduction

Propolis is a sticky resin that seep from the sprouts of some trees and muds from the bark of other tree mainly conifers. Bees gather propolis, sometimes called bee gelatine and carry it home in their pollen baskets. They mingle it with wax flakes closeed from special glands on their abdomens. Propolis is used to slickly line the interior of sit cells in preparation for the queen's laying of ovums a most important procedure. Propolis is another medicinal marvel from the beehive. Research exhibits it possesses antiseptic, antibiotic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antitumor and smooth antiviral properties (1-3). Successful clinical applications along these lines generated an increasing interest in its chemical composition.

Chemically speaking, propolis is a actual complex mixture and its constitutings vary according to its source. centurys of chemical compounds have been identified from propolis. The main chemical classes not away in propolis are flavonoids, phenolics and diverse aromatic intermixs Propolis also contains some volatile constitutings and beeswax (4). The nearness and identification of the secondary metabolites from plants at hand in propolis, which contribute to its biological activity, are of great importance in the unravelling of the pharmacy and the human nutrition. Between these metabolites, the volatile unites are of great importance, to be paid to their potent biological activity, smooth though they are found single in small concentrations.

Besides the belonging to all honeybees (Apis mellifera), there are the stingless bees, commonly named as meliponas, which can be a great quantity [i]or[/i] amount of more sophisticated than honeybees. More than 400 species of these bees in more [i]or[/i] less 50 genera have been base (5). Whereas honeybee species be like each other strongly, stingless bees tender a little of almost everything. The stingless bees are a subfamily of the Apidae family, of the Hymenoptera order of the insects. They are insects with four membranous wings, with buccal parts that form a construction in the form of tongue, end which liquid food is taken. The subfamily of the stingless bees differs from the quiet of the members of Apidae to be paid to their reduced veins in the previous wings, atrophied sting or not functional and the composite organ of sights without pilosity. They are recognized for their small size, the majority between 15 mm drawn out relative absence of hair, and abdomen not pointed (6)

At not away time, Mexico is one of the three major countries that exports honey Around 38% of its production is in southeastern part of the geographical division especially in the Yucatan peninsula. Beekeeping activity upon the commercial scale in the Yucatan peninsula has discloseed utilizing Apis mellifera bees for their exploitation. However, in a certain quantity of zones of the state the upbringing of native stingless bees of the Melipona beecheii species is also a commercial enterprise.

Although the chemical composition of volatile intermingles of propolis from honeybees has been the thing of previous study (7-15), there is no information about propolis volatiles from stingless bees. The objective of the at hand study was to identify volatile constitutings presented in the propolis from Apis mellifera and Melipona beecheii bring togethered in the state of Yucat??n, located in southeastern Mexico.

Experimental

Samples of propolis of Apis mellifera and Melipona beecheii were mustered from beehives in Yucat??n state, Mexico, in January 2003 at a rain-free time. The natural flora that exists in the pair zones of Yucat??n where the propolis samples were gathered was similar. They are characterized by the agency of secondary vegetation of diverse ages, derived from depressed tropical dry forest (16), with an average height from 3 to 5 m with a certain quantity of trees higher about 12 to 15 m constituted by dint of abundant types of different plants, principally several kinds of leguminous and acacias and other plants like xtokaban (Eupatorium adoratum), tah (Viguiera dentata), cedro (Cedrela mexicana), and a certain quantity of others (17).

After addition of an internal standard (methyl decanoate, 1 mg) propolis (10 g) was commingleed with distilled water (500 mL) and simultaneously distilled and extracted for 60 min in a Likens-Nickerson microapparatus with 40 mL of dichloromethane P.A. (previously redistilled and checked as to purity). The volatile concentrate was dried above anhydrous sulfate and concentrated to 06 mL with a Vigreux round pillar and then, to 0.1 mL with a meek nitrogen stream.