Abstract
Extracts of 35 samples of European propolis were tested against wild type and resistant strains of the protozoal pathogens Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma congolense and Leishmania mexicana. The extracts were also tested against Crithidia fasciculata a close relative of Crithidia mellificae, a parasite of bees. Crithidia, Trypanosoma and Leishmania are all members of the order Kinetoplastida. High levels of activity were obtained for all the samples with the levels of activity varying across the sample set. The highest levels of activity were found against L. mexicana. The propolis samples were profiled by using liquid chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and principal components analysis (PCA) of the data obtained indicated there was a wide variation in the composition of the propolis samples. Orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS) associated a butyrate ester of pinobanksin with high activity against T. brucei whereas in the case of T. congolense high activity was associated with methyl ethers of chrysin and pinobanksin. In the case of C. fasciculata highest activity was associated with methyl ethers of galangin and pinobanksin. OPLS modelling of the activities against L. mexicana using the mass spectrometry produced a less successful model suggesting a wider range of active components.
Highlights
Propolis is a resinous substance collected by bees, generally from plant buds
In this paper we report the activity of 35 European propolis samples against Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma congolense, Leishmania mexicana and Crithidia fasciculata
In most cases activity was equal or superior against the miltefosine APC12-resistant cell line, giving an average Resistance Index of 0.74 ± 0.09, but it was not possible to fit a strong an Orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS) model for the data obtained for L. mexicana as for the T. brucei data, probably because the range of activities obtained across the samples is lower than for T. brucei and the number of samples tested was smaller
Summary
Propolis is a resinous substance collected by bees, generally from plant buds. Its composition varies widely according to the vegetation surrounding the bee hive[1].
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