Production of propolis and geopropolis by stingless bees (original) (raw)

2020

Abstract

So far, papers about propolis refer to honey bees (Apis mellifera). Propolis is a hive product composed of plant resin, beeswax, pollen, and other minor constituents. Not much has been done about propolis from species of stingless bees. These insects belong to the family Apidae (same as Apis), subfamily Apinae, and tribe Meliponini. Most meliponines do not produce honey, although the Brazilian Melipona scutellaris (“uruçu”) produce honey available commercially. On the other hand, many stingless bees from Tropical America and Australia produce propolis. The composition of the resin of this propolis has been reviewed.1,2 In general, propolis from Apis and meliponine contains phenolic compounds as main constituents. In some cases, both bee groups share the same plant source and the composition of their propolis is almost identical.3 Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, among many other biological properties, have been reported for propolis of stingless bees.2

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