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Antibacterial and leishmanicidal activity of Bolivian propolis
Author(s) -
Ni.,
Lima B.,
Feresin G.E.,
Giménez A.,
Salamanca Capusiri E.,
SchmedaHirschmann G.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/lam.12543
Subject(s) - propolis , antiprotozoal , antimicrobial , antibacterial activity , leishmania , biology , minimum inhibitory concentration , food science , bacteria , traditional medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , biochemistry , in vitro , parasite hosting , medicine , genetics , world wide web , computer science
The antimicrobial activity of Bolivian propolis was assessed for the first time on a panel of bacteria and two endemic parasitic protozoa. Ten samples of Bolivian propolis and their main constituents were tested using the micro‐broth dilution method against 11 bacterial pathogenic strains as well as against promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis and L. braziliensis using the XTT‐based colorimetric method. The methanolic extracts showed antibacterial effect ranging from inactive (MICs > 1000 μ g ml −1 ) to low (MICs 250–1000 μ g ml −1 ), moderate (62·5–125 μ g ml −1 ) and high antibacterial activity (MIC 31·2 μ g ml −1 ), according to the collection place and chemical composition. The most active samples towards Leishmania species were from Cochabamba and Tarija, with IC 50 values of 12·1 and 7·8, 8·0 and 10·9 μ g ml −1 against L . amazonensis and Leishmania brasiliensis respectively. The results show that the best antibacterial and antiprotozoal effect was observed for some phenolic‐rich propolis. Significance and Impact of the Study Propolis is used in Bolivia as an antimicrobial agent. Bolivian propolis from the main production areas was assessed for antibacterial and leishmanicidal effect and the results were compared with the propolis chemical composition. The active antibacterial propolis samples were phenolic‐rich while those containing mainly triterpenes were devoid of activity or weakly active. A similar picture was obtained for the effect on Leishmania , with better effect for the phenolic‐rich samples. As propolis is used for the same purposes regardless of the production area and composition, our findings indicate the need for the standardization of this natural product as antimicrobial.