Propolis of stingless bees for the development of novel functional food and nutraceutical ingredients: A systematic scoping review of the experimental evidence

Abstract

Propolis is a resinous and complex phytocompounds collected by the bees to serve various critical physical and physiological functions in a beehive. Propolis has been used by humans for centuries to alleviate many ailments including chronic, nutrition-related, and metabolic syndrome-related diseases. The majority of propolis research has been carried out in the propolis harvested from the hives of Apis mellifera. However, a growing body of evidence shows that the propolis from the stingless bees (>600 species) possesses similar biological activities and therapeutic benefits such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and antimicrobial activity. The aim of this article is to review the experimental evidence of the biological activities of propolis from stingless bees, relevant to the development of high-value functional food and nutraceutical ingredients derived from meliponiculture in 4 continents; Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas.