Propolis: Properties, Application, and Its Potential

Propolis is a honeybee product known for its biological and pharmacological properties for centuries. It has been extensively used in traditional medicine and also, because of its antibacterial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and anesthetic activities, in complementary medicine. Propolis became subject of numerous studies developed and carried out all over the world in order to analyze its chemical composition as well as medicinal properties. The inspiration for this special issue was the tenth anniversary of death of Professor Stan Scheller, a precursor of propolis research in Poland. For this special issue we invited investigators and scholars to submit original research reports and review articles as well as short communications on the topic of propolis: its history, the history of the research on propolis, chemical composition of propolis, activity of propo-lis, and application of propolis in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine. More than 50 papers were submitted from which we have selected 41 which represent the rich and multifaceted knowledge. They cover a wide range of topics and are divided into review and research articles. The research articles provide background and are the starting point for discussion of research trends in general terms. They deal with historical aspects of propolis research and focus on Professor Scheller's pioneer studies on propolis that commenced in Poland in the early 1960s. It was Scheller and his team who developed a method of introducing ethanol extracts of propolis into aqueous solutions. They showed that propolis acts as antioxidant and radioprotector, stimulates regeneration of tissue, and has immunomodulatory properties. Another paper describes Scheller's achievements in applying propolis in the treatment of burns, venous ulcerations, suppurative osteitis, and arthritis as well as postoperative wound complications. Some authors describe advances in the studies on chemical composition of propolis as well as botanical sources resulting in its geographically conditioned diversity. In another paper the authors present developments in the analysis and pharmacological properties of propolis which are the starting point for preparation standardization using as an example Romanian propolis. Practical applications of propolis in medicinal therapy and cosmetics are also reviewed. A separate group of papers deals with prophylactic and medicinal properties of propolis preparations in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, oral diseases, and wound healing. Most of the articles in this special issue are of research character. They present the results of a variety of studies comprising different propolis extracts and their fractions as well as chemical compounds isolated …