Propolis Water Solution Decreases Heart Mitochondrial Respiration Rate

Cardiology; Recent Findings from Italy and Lithuania Illuminate Research in Cardiology
Heart Disease Weekly, 10/15/2006

2006 OCT 15 - (NewsRx.com) -- Investigators in Italy and Lithuania have published new cardiology data…

Study 2: Propolis water solution decreases heart mitochondrial respiration rate.

Researchers in Lithuania report, "The effect of propolis water solution (PWS) on the respiration of rat heart mitochondria with NAD-linked (pyruvate + malate), FAD-linked (succinate) substrates and fatty acids (palmitoyl-L-carnitine) was investigated in this study."

"PWS at the lowest concentration of 4 mcg mL-1 of phenolic compounds (PC) had no effect on mitochondrial respiration with all investigated substrates," wrote D. Majiene and colleagues at Kaunas University of Medicine.

"PWS at concentrations of 63 and 125 mcg mL-1 of PC caused a significant decrease of basal (24 and 54%) and maximal (58 and 70%) respiration rates with succinate as substrate," noted the investigators. "At these PWS concentrations the oxidation of pyruvate + malate and palmitoyl-L-carnitine was diminished to a lower degree: the basal respiration rate decreased by 13-18% and the maximal respiration rate by 15-28%. Succinate oxidation was affected, probably because of the inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase by the 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid esters found in PWS."

"The PWS-caused decrease in the mitochondrial respiration rate with pyruvate + malate and fatty acids could be due to diminished activities of respiratory chain complexes and/or ADP/ATP translocator," the authors concluded.

Majiene and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology (Influence of propolis water solution on heart mitochondrial function. J Pharm Pharmacol, 2006;58(5):709-713).

For additional information, contact D. Majiene, Kaunas University of Medicine, Institute for Biomedical Research, Eiveniu Str 4, LT-50009 Kaunas 7, Lithuania.