Abstract
Propolis is one of the complex, but valuable, bio-sources for discovering therapeutic compounds. Diterpenes are organic compounds composed of four isoprene units and are known for their biological and pharmacological characteristics, such as antibacterial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities. Recently, advancements have been made in the development of antibacterial and anticancer leads from propolis-isolated diterpenes, and scrutiny of these compounds is being pursued. Thus, this review covers the progress in this arena, with a focus on the chemistry and biological activities of propolis diterpenes. It is anticipated that important information, in a comprehensive and concise manner, will be delivered here for better understanding of natural product drug discovery research.
Highlights
Honey bees have been known to humans for more than 15,000 years, and archaeological studies have revealed rock paintings describing bees and hive beekeeping, and how human beings domesticated wild bees and obtained benefits from them, using beekeeping apparatus [1,2]
As the first review report about diterpenoids sequestered from propolis, it is worth mentioning that labdanoids (6, 10, 13, and 16) were purified from a Brazilian propolis type, with the same pattern for diterpenes found in Araucaria genus members, which provides a clue to its botanical source [118]
Most diterpenes isolated from propolis possess antibacterial and cytotoxic activities; for that reason, these two activities have been centred on and the mechanisms of action are discussed
Summary
Honey bees have been known to humans for more than 15,000 years, and archaeological studies have revealed rock paintings describing bees and hive beekeeping, and how human beings domesticated wild bees and obtained benefits from them, using beekeeping apparatus [1,2]. In recent decades propolis is known as a popular complementary medicine in various dosage forms, such as lozenges, creams, and mouthwashes. It enters into the cosmetic industries as a unique natural constituent [10]. A type of terpene, is one of the outstanding chemical structures inside propolis and has shown a broad array of biological effects, such as antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antiplatelet, anticancer, and antihypertensive activities [22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33]. Before focusing on the properties of diterpenes isolated from propolis, a concise summary of propolis pharmacological and biological activities is presented and in this review, we discuss the biological and pharmacological activity of the diterpenoid propolis along with their chemical structures, sources, and their probable action mechanisms, to display the potency of such naturally-occurring organic molecules as novel resources for future drug discovery
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