Propolis from different Brazilian stingless bee species: phenolic composition and antimicrobial activity

Rocha et al. Food Production, Processing and Nutrition (2024) 6:12 https://doi.org/10.1186/s43014-023-00195-4 Food Production, Processing and Nutrition Open Access RESEARCH Propolis from different Brazilian stingless bee species: phenolic composition and antimicrobial activity Vitor Moreira Rocha1, Ricardo Wagner Portela2, Luiz Eduardo Lacerda2, Ana Rita Sokolonski3, Carolina Oliveira de Souza1, Jeancarlo Pereira dos Anjos4,5,6, Renata Quartieri Nascimento7 and Marcelo Andrés Umsza‑Guez1,8*    Abstract Stingless bees (SLB) are insects bread many centuries ago by indigenous people and more than 500 species have already been described. Interest in SLB’s propolis has grown as a way to value and preserve native bees, in addition to investigating/prospecting compounds with biological functionality (antimicrobial activity, antioxidant, etc.). The natural active compounds found in propolis come from different plant sources, and consequently, each propolis may show unique biological/pharmacological activity. There is still an important gap about the profile of chemical compounds, biological and pharmacological potential of propolis produced by SLBs. This work aimed to investigate the presence of phenolic and coumaric compounds (HPLC–DAD-FLD) and the antimicrobial activity (microdilution method) of propolis extracts from five different species of SLB reared in different places. The samples from Melipona quadrifasciata (82.05 mgGAEg−1) and one from, Frieseomelitta doederleini (56.22 mgGAEg−1) showed the highest con‑ centrations of phenolic compounds. It was possible to identify in the propolis samples formononetin, kaempferol, gal‑ lic acid and coumarin. Resveratrol was detected in all samples, an unprecedent fact for SLB propolis. Candida albicans was susceptible to all tested extracts, while Escherichia coli was inhibited only by propolis from Melipona quadrifasciata; Enterococcus faecalis was inhibited by propolis from Plebeiadroryana., Melipona quadrifasciata and Frieseomelitta doederleini. It was verified that SLB propolis constitutes a source of different biocompounds, which varies according to the location where the bees are raised, and has mainly antifungal activity, generating possibilities of its use in differ‑ ent biotechnological products. Keywords Antifungals, Melipona, Natural compounds, Resveratrol, Coumarins *Correspondence: Marcelo Andrés Umsza‑Guez Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2024. 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Food Production, Processing and Nutrition (2024) 6:12 Page 2 of 14 Graphical Abstract Introduction Bees play a key role in agriculture as pollinators, and it is estimated that 70% of crops of importance for human consumption are pollinated by these insects around the world; they also preserve biodiversity by ensuring fertilization of several plant species. The role of pollinating animals has already been estimated to represent between 235 to 577 billion dollars (Potts et al. 2016). The breeding of stingless bees (SLB) is an activity that is easy to handle, has low maintenance costs and economic gains that may be higher than those of Apis mellifera bee (Se et al. 2018; Shadan et al. 2018), and more than 500 SLB species have already been described in Latin America, Australia, Africa and Asia (Souza et al. 2021). Knowledge related to propolis from different species of bees from different indigenous peoples around the world has recently begun to be studied and, often, this knowledge is scientifically proven, confirming the biological potential of this matrix (Popova et al. 2021). Natural and herbal products, such as propolis, have been used by various civilizations (ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Chinese, and even indigenous populations from South and Central America) throughout history. These communities used bee products (propolis, honey, royal jelly) for the treatment of diseases. Even without scientific knowledge, these people noticed that propolis had antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties (Vázquez et al. 2016; Paris et al. 2018). More specifically, stinging bee propolis has long been used in traditional medicine by native populations from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, India, and Vietnam (Popova et al. 2021). Flores et al. (2018) investigated the use of products from honey-producing insects by populations from northern Argentina, and identified that honey, pollen, wax and propolis from Plebeia sp. nov. had the highest frequency of use. In recent years, after several studies based on the chemical characterization and in vitro, in silico and animal models assays using propolis, some positive results were published, confirming the knowledge of native populations and ancient civilizations. The use of propolis (dehydrated liquid extracts) in clinical cases of respiratory problems led to negative microbial diagnostic tests after 12 days of treatment (Zorlu, 2021). Fiorini et al. (2021) showed that the use of propolis significantly reduced the intensity of acute kidney injuries. Silveira et al. (2021) used propolis extract as an adjuvant in the treatment of Covid-19 and found a significant reduction in associated clinical symptoms, such as dry cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, chest pain, fever, dizziness, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Cohen et al. (2004) and Marchisio et al. (2010) obtained a significant reduction (> 50%) in the incidence of cases of upper respiratory tract infection, acute otitis media, pneumonia and tonsillopharyngitis, after treatment with propolis. Ohkuma et al. (2010) also observed the reduction and shortening of symptoms of the common cold in patients undergoing treatments with propolis. Guan et al. 2023 showed that the overall therapeutic effect of propolis extract is better than that of the metformin group, showing that it reduces fasting glycemia in mice by improving the inflammatory reaction, regulating metabolism, and affecting the steady state of the intestinal microbiota. SLB propolis has gained the attention of researchers over the last 20 years because they are rich sources of phenolic compounds, which have esse (...truncated)