Abstract
Propolis is a plant-derived bee product rich in volatile constituents that are vital to its aroma and biological properties. The aims of this study were to determine, for the first time, the volatile oil composition of green propolis (produced by Apis mellifera) from the Caatinga biome in northeastern Brazil and to evaluate the influence of the rainy and dry seasons on its composition. Forty-nine components belonging to monoterpene (hydrocarbons and oxygenates), sesquiterpene (hydrocarbons and oxygenates), and aliphatic hydrocarbon classes were identified. Monoterpenes tended to be more abundant in the dry season, whereas the opposite was true for aliphatic hydrocarbons. Sesquiterpenes were identified as the predominant volatile component in green propolis (88.48–92.29%) and no significant seasonal variation was observed. This lack of variation probably does not have a significant influence on the properties of the matrix. The major components identified were β-caryophyllene (12.28–15.31%), 7-epi-α-selinene (11.82–16.31%), and δ-cadinene (7.12–28.09%).
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical for the volatile analysis executed at the Laboratório Multiusuário de Química da Produtos Naturais (LMQPN).
Funding
Financial support was provided by FUNCAP (BPI—Project n° BP3-0139–00102.01.00/18 and BP4-00172–00122.01.00/20), CNPq and FINEP for funding support. Gratefully acknowledge financial support from INCT BioNat, National Institute of Science and Technology (grant no. 465637/2014–0), and Embrapa (SEG 03.14.01.012.00.00).
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Acquisition of propolis samples: LSM, VMF, ECSM, MFC, JABF; chemical characterization analysis and interpretation of experimental data: LSM, VMF, BJFP, JPH, GJZ, HSS; drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content: GAG, JPCV, PNB, THSR; final approval of the version to be submitted: GJZ, HSS, THSR. All authors have read and approved the final submission.
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da Silva Mendonça, L., Frota, V.M., Pinto, B.J.F. et al. Seasonality in the Volatile Oil Composition of Green Propolis from the Caatinga Biome. Rev. Bras. Farmacogn. 31, 497–501 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43450-021-00186-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43450-021-00186-x