Research study: (As published in the official journal of Hellenic Society for Microbiology)

Propolis: bioactive molecules with antibacterial activity

Stavroula Mamoucha, Anastasia Prombona

Institute of Biosciences and Applications, National Centre for Scientific Research DEMOKRITOS,

Ag. Paraskevi, Attiki

Propolis is a natural substance produced by honey bees from the exudates of certain trees and plants. Its composition varies according to the botanical and geographical origin, the seasonal timing of collection, and extraction methods.

In the present work, studies were carried out with Propolis samples which were collected from the area of Karditsas (Greece) and are used by the natural cosmetics company Mybee.

In this investigation we performed several tests regarding the solvent, the extraction method and the bioactivity. For this purpose, Propolis extracts in 95 or 70% ethanol and standard bacterial strains were used (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Micrococcus luteus ATCC 934 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922). Bioactivity tests were performed by Disk Diffusion Assay and Well Diffusion Assay.

Applying these methods of analysis, the growth inhibition zone for S. aureus και M. luteus was 2±0,3 cm και 1,8±0,2 cm, respectively. No inhibition was observed for the bacterial strain E. coli. These results indicate that the examined Propolis sample has antibacterial activity against the tested Gram-positive bacteria (Read more…)