The composition, active components and bacteriostatic activity of propolis in dietetics

Abstract

Abstract The composition and bacteriostatic activities of fifteen propolis samples from various botanic and geographic origins were determined. Twenty‐six phenolic components were identified by high‐performance liquid chromatography with array photodiode detector. Acacetin and apigenin were most abundant. Pinocembrin, quercetin, rutin and vanillin were present in lesser quantities. Variance analysis shows significant differences ( P ≤0.05) in the contents of phenols, flavonoids and active components. The minimum inhibitory concentration of propolis is about 53 times higher than that reported for tetracycline against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus , and about 400 times higher against Escherichia coli .