The chemicals in propolis
The main component of propolis are resins. The flavonoids and phenolic acids rich resins make around 40 % to 50 % of propolis.
Because propolis comes from variety of plants, availability of the plants sap and the type of bees, no two propolis are alike. They would be different in term of colors, odors and compositions.
Chemical Ingredients
Chemically, propolis is exceedingly complex. Apart from flavonoids, propolis is also rich in caffeic acid phenethyl ester. This is a substance that has been proven to inhibit cancer growth and reduce inflammation in animal studies.
Bee propolis also contains organic acids, their derivatives as well as terpenoids. These constituents contribute to it’s antibiotic, anti fungal and antiviral effects.
Apart from that you will also find :-
- kaempferol
- apigenin
- pinocembrin
- galangin
- luteolin
- pinostrobin, and
- quercitin
All of which are anti-inflammatory, antiallergenic, antioxidant and/or antimutagenic.
Chemically complex
Scientifically, studies done on propolis had found that it actually contains more than 150 chemical components. Some researchers even found as much as 300 components in their sample propolis.
About Propolis Antibacterial and Antiviral Effects
There is an interesting difference between propolis’s antibacterial property compared to an antibiotics.
Antibiotics works by killing bacteria in our body. That includes “friendly” ones needed by the body. Among the good bacteria killed by antibiotics are ones responsible in helping the body produce vitamins like B and K. The more antibiotics you use, the more “friendly” bacteria will you kill.
On the other hand, propolis raises your body’s natural resistance by stimulating your own immune system. It also adds vitamins like B1, B, C, E and essential minerals including iron, aluminum, manganese and silicon to the body.
Related posts:
- What is propolis ?
- Effect of propolis on human cartilage and chondrocytes
- The Health Benefits of Bee Propolis