Flavonoids, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity of propolis from various areas of Guanajuato, Mexico

Abstract Propolis is a resin gathered by honey bees from trees and shrubs but it used in the beehive as building material or as an antibiotic paste. The aim of this study was to determine the content of flavonoids and phenols, as well as the antioxidant capacity of propolis from various regions of Guanajuato, Mexico. The content of flavonoids and phenols was determined by the aluminum nitrate method and the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The antioxidant capacity was determined using the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) method and the ferric reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ (FRAP•) assay. The flavonoid content varied from 13 to 379 mg of quercetin equivalents (QE) per g of propolis and the phenolic content ranged from 68 to 500 mg of caffeic acid equivalents (CAE) per g of propolis. The trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) per g of propolis varied from 39.8 to 54.4 for the DPPH• method and from 50 to 2000 for the FRAP• assay. Propolis rich in flavonoids and phenols possesses a low antioxidant capacity. The results show that propolis from different areas of Guanajuato are rich in flavonoids and phenolics compounds while their antioxidant capacity is variable.