Antioxidant Activity of Propolis from Algarve

The term ‘propolis’ was used in Ancient Greece meaning: pro (for, in front of, e.g., at the entrance to) and polis (city or community); a substance that is for or in defence of the city or hive. Propolis is a resinous substance collected by honeybees from leaf buds and exudates from various plant sources, which is employed for construction and repair of the honeycomb. More than 180 compounds have been reported as being constituents of propolis: polyphenols (flavonoids, phenolic acids and their esters), terpenoids, steroids, and amino acids. Nevertheless, its composition varies qualitatively and quantitatively with the geographical and botanical origins. Propolis possesses antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antiulcer, hepatoprotective, antitumor, immunostimulating and antioxidant activities, among others. These activities are particularly dependent on the chemical composition of propolis. In the present work the antioxidant activities, measured by several methods, in hydro-alcoholic extracts of propolis collected at different zones of Algarve, during winter and spring, were evaluated. Phenolic content was evaluated along with the capacity of extracts of propolis for scavenging DPPH and ABTS free radicals as well as superoxide anion. The zones were spread by 3 areas in central Algarve: Serra do Algarve (Califórnia, Cabaça, Sarnadinha, Sobreira and Vila Chã Vermelhos); Barrocal (Ameijoafra, Arrodeios and Pé da Serra), and the third region was an intermediate zone between those two regions, that we called as Transition (Rio Seco, Bicão Alto, Jordana, Lavajo and Madeira). Independent on the collection time generally Ameijoafra, Arrodeios and Pé da Serra, all of them belonging to the Barrocal region, presented the highest amount of phenols. Concerning the antioxidant activity, namely the capacity for scavenging DPPH radicals, the extracts obtained from Ameijoafra, Pé da Serra and Arrodeios (Maqui) in both collection times, and Vila Chã Vermelhos (Mountain), only in spring, was the most active. A practically similar pattern was observed when the activity was measured through the ABTS radical scavenging. These results were coincident with the highest amounts of phenols present in the extracts. Only the samples from Barrocal were significant better inhibitors of superoxide anion radicals’ formation than the remaining samples.