Characteristics and chemical compositions of propolis from Ethiopia
..., Ahmed I Rushdi, Ahmed Al-Khazim, . 2014
Honeybees collect resinous/waxy substances from exudates of plants to make a sticky material known as propolis (Ghisalberti 1979; Parolia et al. 2010). They utilize propolis to seal cracks in hives, encapsulate invader carcasses and protect their hives from infection by bacteria and fungi (Banskota et al. 2001; Simone-Finstrom & Spivak 2010). In ancient times, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all used propolis as a remedy against some diseases (Sforcin & Bankova 2011). The therapeutic properties of propolis are due to its chemical composition with bio-active compounds; therefore, researchers are interested in studying its chemical constituents and biological properties (Sforcin & Bankova 2011; Bankova 2005; Castaldo & Capasso 2002; Sforcin 2007). The diverse chemical compositions and biological activities of propolis are attributed to geographical settings, plant sources and collecting season (Sforcin & Bankova 2011). Flavonoids, aromatic acids, diterpenoid acids, triterpenoids, and phenolic compounds are the major components of propolis (Bankova et al. 2000; Chen et al. 2008; Cursta-Rubio et al. 2007; Daugsch et al. 2008; Kumazawa et al. 2008; Markham et al. 1996; Popova et al. 2010). Some of these compounds are responsible for its biological activities (Bankova et al. 2000; Barros et al. 2007; Bassani-Silva et al. 2007; Bufalo et al. 2009; Cvek et al. 2007; Orsatti et al. 2010a; Orsatti et al. 2010b; Orsi et al. 2005; Zamami et al. 2007). There are three possible sources for the organic compounds of propolis: plants, secreted substances from honeybee metabolism, and materials that are introduced during propolis formation (Marcucci 1995). Propolis is typically composed of 50% resin and vegetable balsam, 30% wax, 10% essential and aromatic oils, 5% pollen and 5% other substances (Cirasino et al. 1987; Monti et al. 1983). Most of the studies on propolis composition and pharmacological effects have been performed on samples from Europe and Latin America (e.g. (Bankova et al. 2000; Daugsch et al. 2008; Barros et al. 2007; Monti et al. 1983)), whereas few have reported on propolis from north Africa (El-Hady & Hegazi 2002; Hegazi & El-Hady 2002) with none from Ethiopia. Ethiopia is located in north-eastern Africa with varied climatic and physiographic conditions that endowed the country with more than 7,000 species of flowering plants (Edwards 1976). They are considered as a potential for producing huge volume of propolis with high probabilities for various biologically active substances. However, many beekeepers in the country focus only on honey production.
Some Candida species are found as endosymbionts in most healthy individuals. C.
Propolis is a regional strongly differing heterogeneous glue material generated by honeybees using plant resins and beeswax.
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