Positive Health Online

Abstract

NAKAJIMA and COLLEAGUES,  Department of Biofunctional Evaluation, Molecular Pharmacology, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, 5-6-1 Mitahora-higashi, Gifu, Japan. yoshimi_cp@yahoo.co.jp compared antioxidant activity of bee products, including propolis, royal jelly and bee pollen.

Background

Bee products (including propolis, royal jelly, and bee pollen) are popular, traditional health foods.

Methodology

The authors compared antioxidant effects among water and ethanol extracts of Brazilian green propolis (WEP or EEP), its main constituents, water-soluble royal jelly (RJ), and an ethanol extract of bee pollen. The hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-, superoxide anion (O2.-)-, and hydroxyl radical (HO.)- scavenging capacities of bee products were measured using antioxidant capacity assays that employed the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-sensitive probe 5-(and-6)-chloromethyl-2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate, acetyl ester (CM-H2DCFDA) or aminophenyl fluorescein (APF).

Results

The rank order of antioxidant potencies was as follows: WEP > EEP > pollen, but neither RJ nor 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA) had any effects. Concerning the main constituents of WEP, the rank order of antioxidant effects was: caffeic acid > artepillin C > drupanin, but neither baccharin nor coumaric acid had any effects. The scavenging effects of caffeic acid were as powerful as those of trolox, but stronger than those of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or vitamin C.

Conclusion

On the basis of the present assays, propolis is the most powerful antioxidant of all the bee product examined, and its effect may be partly due to the various caffeic acids it contains. Pollen, too, exhibited strong antioxidant effects.

References

Nakajima Y, Tsuruma K, Shimazawa M, Mishima S and Hara H. Comparison of bee products based on assays of antioxidant capacities. BMC Complementary & Alternative Medicine. 9:4, 2009.