Primary screening of multipotent therapeutic properties exhibited by Indian propolis

Abstract

This study characterizes the antimicrobial, anti-oxidant properties and chemical profile of the propolis collected from the Shahapur region of Maharashtra. Chemical constituents were identified to be flavonoids, alkaloids, phytosterols, triterpenes and glycosides. Total phenolic content was 4.751 mg/g, while the protein content was 1.187 g percent. The anti-oxidant activity accounts to about 4.732 mM of ascorbic units, determined by phospho-molybdenum assay. Antimicrobial activities were tested on selected Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi) bacteria, as well as on pathogenic fungi Candida albicans. Crude extracts in absolute ethanol was tested for in vitro anti-angiogenic activity by the CAM assay on fertilized Leghorn eggs. The anti-inflammatory test in terms of inhibition of hypotonicity-induced HRBC membrane lysis was determined to be 39.13 % at 8000 μg/mL. Results indicated that propolis possesses remarkable properties and provide avenues for new chemical entities that could lead to the production of medicine in different therapeutic areas of health science.