Stingless Bee Propolis Shows Antimicrobial, Anti-Cancer Activities

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Antimicrobial and Antiproliferative Activities of StinglessBee Melipona scutellaris Geopropolis
BMC Complement Altern Med, 2013 Jan 28;13(1):23\BACKGROUND: Geopropolis is a type of propolis containingresin, wax, and soil, collected by threatened stingless bee species native totropical countries and used in folk medicine. However, studies concerning thebiological activity and chemical composition of geopropolis are scarce. In thisstudy, we evaluated the antimicrobial and antiproliferative activity of theethanolic extract of geopropolis (EEGP) collected by Melipona scutellaris andits bioactive fraction against important clinical microorganisms as well astheir in vitro cytotoxicity and chemical profile.METHODS: The antimicrobial activity of EEGP and fractions wasexamined by determining their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) andminimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) against six bacteria strains as wellas their ability to inhibit Streptococcus mutans biofilm adherence. Totalgrowth inhibition (TGI) was chosen to assay the antiproliferative activity ofEEGP and its bioactive fraction against normal and cancer cell lines. Thechemical composition of M. scutellaris geopropolis was identified byreversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and gaschromatography--mass spectrometry.RESULTS: EEGP significantly inhibited the growth of Staphylococcusaureus strains and S. mutans at low concentrations, and its hexane fraction(HF) presented the highest antibacterial activity. Also, both EEGP and HFinhibited S. mutans biofilm adherence (p < 0.05) and showed selectivityagainst human cancer cell lines, although only HF demonstrated selectivity atlow concentrations. The chemical analyses performed suggest the absence offlavonoids and the presence of benzophenones as geopropolis major compounds.CONCLUSIONS: The empirical use of this unique type of geopropolis by folkmedicine practitioners was confirmed in the present study, since it showedantimicrobial and antiproliferative potential against the cancer cell linesstudied. It is possible that the major compounds found in this type ofgeopropolis are responsible for its properties.