Malaysian and Brazilian Red Propolis Show Wound Healing Potential

The effects of Malaysian propolis and Brazilian red propolis on connective tissue fibroblasts in the wound healing process

BMC Complement Altern Med. 2015 Aug 25;15:294

BACKGROUND:

To evaluate and compare the effects of ethanolic extracts of Malaysian propolis and Brazilian red propolis at different concentrations on the migration and proliferation of fibroblast cells.

METHODS:

Malaysian and Brazilian red propolis crude samples were extracted using ethanol. Their wound healing effects were tested in vitro on the normal human fibroblast cell line CRL-7522. Cell migration and proliferation assays were carried out using propolis concentrations of 1, 10, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 μg/mL. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post hoc Bonferroni tests (α = 0.05).

RESULTS:

Malaysian and Brazilian red propolis followed a concentration-dependent increasing and decreasing trend. Malaysian propolis showed the fastest migration rate at 250 μg/mL which was statistically significant (p < 0.05) and maximum proliferation at 500 μg/mL with no significant difference (p > 0.05) compared to control. Brazilian red propolis showed a slight increase in migration and proliferation at 10 and 100 μg/mL, respectively with no significant difference (p > 0.05) compared to control, while concentrations above these conferred inhibitory effects.

CONCLUSION:

Malaysian and Brazilian red propolis show potential to assist in wound healing, depending on their concentration.