title: A pharmacological perspective on the use of Brazilian Red Propolis and its isolated compounds against human diseases.
abstract: Propolis is a complex resinous mixture collected by bees, with high medicinal, historical and economic value. The nutraceutical and pharmacological benefits of propolis have been extensively explored in several fields of medicine as an important resource for prevention and treatment of oral and systemic diseases. A relatively new type of propolis, named red propolis (in Brazil, Brazilian Red Propolis - BRP), has been arousing attention for the promising pharmacological properties of some of its isolated compounds (vestitol, neovestitol, quercetin, medicarpin, formononetin, etc). Due to a distinct chemical composition, BRP and its isolated compounds (mainly isoflavones) affect a wide range of biological targets and could have an impact against numerous diseases as an antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory, antioxidant and antiproliferative agent. In this review, we comprehensively address the main aspects related to BRP bioprospection, chemistry and therapeutic potential. Further information is provided on mechanisms of action discovered thus far as well as clinical use in humans and regulatory aspects. As of now, BRP and its isolated molecules remain a fascinating topic for further research and application in biomedical areas and dentistry.
authors: Department of Physiological Sciences, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
authors: Irlan Almeida
authors: IA
authors: Freires
authors: Department of Agri-food Industry, Food and Nutrition, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
authors: Severino Matias
authors: SM
authors: de Alencar
authors: Department of Physiological Sciences, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: rosalen@fop.unicamp.br.
authors: Pedro Luiz
authors: PL
authors: Rosalen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D001516:Bees / Q000737:chemistry; D001938:Brazil; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D055808:Drug Discovery; D006801:Humans; D007529:Isoflavones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011429:Propolis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D007529:Isoflavones; D011429:Propolis
keywords: Anti-inflammatory; Antimicrobial; Antioxidant; Antiproliferative; Isoflavones; Red propolis