title: International Regulations of Propolis Quality: Required Assays do not Necessarily Reflect their Polyphenolic-Related In Vitro Activities.
abstract: Propolis has been proposed as a polyphenolic-rich natural product potentially able to be used for human consumption or even for medicinal proposes. To guarantee a minimum phenolic and flavonoid content and as consequence of their related-biological activities, international requirements of propolis quality are commonly applied. In this work we assessed phenolic and flavonoid contents of propolis; the antioxidant capacity (toward peroxyl radicals and hypochlorous acid); the ability to generate nitric oxide (NO); and, finally the antimicrobial activity of 6 propolis samples from the VI region of Chile. Our results show that the total phenolic and flavonoid content of propolis samples are not always in agreement with their polyphenolic-associated in vitro activities. For example, P03 and P06 samples showed the lowest (25 ± 4 GAE/g propolis) and the highest (105 ± 3 GAE/g propolis) total phenolic content, respectively. This was in agreement with flavonoid content and their Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) activity. However, this dependence was not observed toward HOCl, NO release and antimicrobial activity. Based on our results, we consider that, in order to guarantee the antioxidant or antimicrobial in vitro effects, the international regulations of propolis quality should contemplate the convenience of incorporating other simple analytical test such as ORAC or antimicrobial tests.
authors.affiliation: Depto. de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Univ. Católica de Chile, Avda Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bridi
authors.affiliation: Depto. de Ciencias Vegetales, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Univ. Católica de Chile, Avda Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Montenegro
authors.affiliation: Depto. de Ciencias Vegetales, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Univ. Católica de Chile, Avda Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nuñez-Quijada
authors.affiliation: Depto. de Química Inorgánica, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Univ. Católica de Chile, Avda Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Ady
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giordano
authors.affiliation: Depto. de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Univ. Católica de Chile, Avda Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernanda Morán-Romero
authors.affiliation: Depto. de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Univ. Católica de Chile, Avda Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jara-Pezoa
authors.affiliation: Insto. de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Univ. de Chile, El Líbano 5524, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Hernán
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Speisky
authors.affiliation: Depto. de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Univ. Católica de Chile, Avda Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Atala
authors.affiliation: Depto. de Farmacia, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Univ. Católica de Chile, Avda Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Camilo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: López-Alarcón
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002677:Chile; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology; D011429:Propolis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000592:standards; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D005419:Flavonoids; D010636:Phenols; D010936:Plant Extracts; D059808:Polyphenols; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D011429:Propolis
keywords: antimicrobial activity; antioxidant activity; flavonoid content; international rules; nitric oxide; propolis; total phenolic content