Propolis Bioactive Compounds of Stingless Bees (<i>Tetragonula laeviceps</i>) from Mount Merapi Slope, Sleman, Yogyakarta

Abstract

The emergence of many new diseases due to viruses and bacteria demands for an increase in the discovery of natural alternative medicines. One example of sources of natural medicine is the honey and the propolis of Tetragonula laeviceps bee. The efficacy, physical and chemical properties of honey are known to be influenced by the type of pollen and the environment whilst the composition of propolis is influenced by the geological factors. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to study the composition of propolis’ bioactive compounds of T.laeviceps bee from Mount Merapi Slope, Sleman, Yogyakarta. The bioactive compound composition of the propolis sample were analysed by Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The analysis showed that the propolis has various type of compounds containing up to 20 bioactive compounds which can be classified in three different groups namely alkaloids (70%), phenolics (20%), and terpenoids (5%). Most of these compounds were found to be biologically important. However, further research is still required to confirm the potential antimicrobial properties of the propolis’ bioactive compounds.