Comparison of the flavonoid aglycone contents of Apis mellifera propolis from various regions of Brazil

RESUMO

Forty-six specimens of propolis which were collected by Apis mellifera were obtained from various regions of Brazil and extracted with 80 per cent aqueous ethanol(ethanolic extract of propolis, EEP). The extracts were analysed by using determination of total flavonoid concentrations using the aluminum nitrate method, UV-spectrophotometry, reversed phase-high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), and reversed phase-HPLC. Six samples of EEP, which contained high total flavonoid concentrations, were selected for futher investigation. HPTLC indicated that the quality of flavonoid aglycones of EEP from the States of Minas Gerais and Säo Paulo (Southeastern Brazil), Goias and Mato Grosso do Sul (closely to Southeastern) were similar, but were different compared to those of EEP's from Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, which are located in Southern Brazil. Reversed Phase-HPLC analysis of EEP's from Southern Brazil identified 7 flavonoid aglycones, whereas there were 9 from Säo Paulo and Minas Gerais and 7 from Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. These results indicate that the plant ecology of Southeastern and Southern Brazil are different. It was also observed that all samples of EEP's demonstrated inhibition of growth of Staphylococcus aureus coagulase positive, whereas Escherichia coli was not inhibited