Abstract
In this study, we demonstrate a high-resolution 15 Tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry coupled with a reverse-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography (RP-UPLC) system for determining the geographical origins of raw propolis samples. The UPLC/FT-ICR MS-based high-resolution platform was validated on the ethanol-extracted propolis (EEP) from various propolis raw materials originating from different countries (i.e., Argentina, Brazil, China, and Korea) to determine the geographical origins of the propolis and the origin-specific key compounds. Based on approximately 8000 molecular features extracted from UPLC/FT-ICR MS datasets, a partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) plot showed distinct separations among propolis samples from four different origins. Key propolis components contributing to the discrimination of Korean propolis from Brazilian and Chinese propolis were identified and classified into five subgroups (i.e., flavonoids, phenols, terpenoids, fatty acids, and others). This analysis revealed the characteristic features of the different propolis samples, and this analytical platform can be further used to determine the geographical origins and to assess the quality of the commercial products.
Highlights
Propolis, the resinous substance collected by honey bees (Apis mellifera) from buds and resins of various plant species, has been used in folk medicine for many years because of its beneficial effects on various symptoms such as wounds, sore throats, and stomach ulcers (Burdock 1998; Huang et al 2014)
Quantitation of ten phenolic components in various extracted propolis (EEP) samples by UPLC analysis To investigate the chemical composition of propolis originating from different countries, we prepared EEP using raw materials from four different countries (i.e., Argentina, Brazil, China, and Korea)
Most flavonoids or phenols showed an absorption maximum at around 240– 290 or 300–350 nm. Those phenolic compounds were mostly been detected at a UV wavelength of 280 nm (Seal 2016; Yang et al 2016), so the UPLC-based detection of the phenolic components in EEP samples was done at a wavelength of 280 nm in this study
Summary
The resinous substance collected by honey bees (Apis mellifera) from buds and resins of various plant species, has been used in folk medicine for many years because of its beneficial effects on various symptoms such as wounds, sore throats, and stomach ulcers (Burdock 1998; Huang et al 2014). Among the chemical components of propolis, phenolic compounds, including flavonoids, are the major constituents and contribute largely to the pharmacological effects of propolis (Banskota et al 1998). The poplar-type propolis, which originates from Populus buds that are Because the compositional diversity of propolis depends on the habitats of the source plants, propolis samples collected from different origins exhibit different characteristics or biological activities such as antitumor, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities (Burdock 1998).
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