Propolis is a resinous material collected by honeybees from plants exudates and has range of biological properties. The geographical location of propolis collection influences its chemical composition, resulting in variations in biological activity. In the present study we analysed the relationship between geographic location of collection, chemical composition, and biological activity of propolis. We used SPSS as a statistical tool to examine selected flavonoids and phenolics for their individual concentration as well as their total content and biological activities i.e., anti-microbial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and antioxidant activity by DPPH assay. Three climatic zones have been classified- temperate, subtropical and tropical. For this meta-data analysis, we selected chemicals such as CAPE, pinocembrin, pinobanksin, galangin, naringenin, chrysin, quercetin, apigenin, cinnamic acid, coumaric acid, caffeic acid and ferulic acid. We observed that, the phenolics have stronger anti-microbial activity as compared to flavonoids and vice-verse for anti-oxidant activity. We also noticed that, total phenolic content is often around 1.5 times higher than flavonoid content in almost all climatic zones. Higher levels of cinnamates were observed in propolis from tropical regions which had better anti-microbial potential, whereas, temperate propolis with higher levels of flavonoids exhibited better anti-oxidant potential.
Acknowledgement: The project was funded by Innovate UK under Knowledge transfer partnership between University of Bradford and Nature’s Laboratory Limited.