Abstract
PremiseA new technique was developed to identify the botanical origin of propolis, a resin‐like material made by bees by mixing saliva and beeswax with plant buds and exudates, using methacrylate for permanent slide preparation.Methods and ResultsPropolis samples were fixed in methacrylate to produce permanent slides. The anatomical structures of the plant fragments in the methacrylated propolis were compared with propolis slides prepared using conventional techniques that consist of propolis sediment obtained during a series of solvent reactions, filtration, and centrifugations, which cost a similar amount to produce. The techniques resulted in qualitative differences between the slides obtained. The methacrylated propolis sections allowed the detailed observation and identification of plant anatomical structures that were obscured in samples prepared using the conventional procedure. This clarity enabled the detailed evaluation of valuable taxon‐diagnostic characters in a permanent slide, which can also be used for histochemical tests.ConclusionsThe methacrylated embedding of propolis is an affordable technique that could be implemented as a routine laboratory procedure. This new technique enables the efficient determination of the botanical origin of propolis.
Highlights
METHODS AND RESULTSPropolis samples were fixed in methacrylate to produce permanent slides
PREMISE: A new technique was developed to identify the botanical origin of propolis, a resin-like material made by bees by mixing saliva and beeswax with plant buds and exudates, using methacrylate for permanent slide preparation
The anatomical structures of the plant fragments in the methacrylated propolis were compared with propolis slides prepared using conventional techniques that consist of propolis sediment obtained during a series of solvent reactions, filtration, and centrifugations, which cost a similar amount to produce
Summary
Propolis samples were collected monthly for 12 months (January to December 2001) from three experimental apiaries of an Africanized honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), each of which contained five colonies. The methacrylate embedding late-embedded propolis samples (Fig. 1C); for example, uniseriate and technique enables the visualization of the amorphous content biseriate secretory trichomes, tector trichomes, and ducts associated (resulting from plant resin that is not associated with plant fragwith vascular bundles turned toward the phloem were observed in the ments) interspersed among the plant fragments and structures, propolis. Such characteristics are consistent with previous leaf anat- which is not eliminated during the dehydration process using the omy studies of B. dracunculifolia The clearer samples produced using the methacrylate embedding method may facilitate the use of various histochemical tests, such as periodic acid–Schiff staining for the detection of total polysaccharides (McManus, 1948) and ruthenium red (Johansen, 1940) for the detection of mucilage and/or pectins
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