In Vitro Evaluation of Portuguese Propolis and Floral
Sources for Antiprotozoal, Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity
Phytotherapy Research, Early View
Propolis is a beehive product with a very complex chemical
composition, used since ancient times in several therapeutic treatments. As a
contribution to the improvement of drugs against several tropical diseases
caused by protozoa, we screened Portuguese propolis and its potential floral
sources Populus x Canadensis and Cistus ladanifer against Plasmodium
falciparum, Leishmania infantum, Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma cruzi.
The toxicity against MRC-5 fibroblast cells was evaluated to
assess selectivity. The in vitro assays were performed following the
recommendations of WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical
Diseases (TDR) and revealed moderate activity, with the propolis extracts
presenting the relatively highest inhibitory effect against T. brucei.
Additionally, the antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Candida
albicans, Trichophyton rubrum and Aspergillus fumigatus was also verified with
the better results observed against T. rubrum. The quality of the extracts was
controlled by evaluating the phenolic content and antioxidant activity.
The observed biological activity variations are associated
with the variable chemical composition of the propolis and the potential floral
sources under study.
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