PHENOLIC CONTENTS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN CENTRAL-SOUTHERN URUGUAYAN PROPOLIS EXTRACTS

A study on the phenolic content and antioxidant properties of Uruguayan propolis is presented. Identification and quantification was carried out by Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC). Antioxidant activity was determined by Antiradical Activity Determination (AAD) measured with DPPH and Microsomal Lipid Peroxidation (MLP) assays. Two phenolic acids (gentistic and p-coumaric) and eight flavonoics (fisetin, myricetin, luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol, pinocembrin, chrysin and tectochrysin) were identified. The existence of five other phenols is postulated. The large difference between range of values of scavenger activity AAD (between 60% and 100%) as compared with lipoperoxidation inhibition (between 15% and 92%), suggests that the complexity of the biologic matrix could modulate the antioxidant effect. From a commercial standpoint, research such as the one presented here endows the product with added value, making it more appealing to the interest of industry and entrepreneurs.