Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Review Article

Propolis: A Complex Natural Product with a Plethora of Biological Activities That Can Be Explored for Drug Development

Table 6

Antibacterial activity of propolis and its chemical constituents.


Origin	Propolis type/plant source	Type of extract/isolated compound(s)	Species	Effect	References

Purchased: Bee Health Ltd. (Scarborough, Yorkshire, UK);	European propolis/Populus nigra;	PEE	B. subtilis SG38, E. coli, and R. sphaeroides	Influencing the ion permeability of the inner bacterial membrane; Inhibition of bacterial motility	[130]
Purchased: Sigma Chemical Co. (Poole, Dorset, UK)	Characteristic of European, Brazilian, and Mediterranean propolis	Caffeic acid, CAPE, quercetin, and naringenin	B. subtilis SG38, E. coli, and R. sphaeroides		[130]

Greece	Mediterranean propolis/probably Conifer spp.	Terpenes (isolated from Cretan propolis)	S. aureus (ATCC 25923), S. epidermidis (ATCC 12228), E. coli (ATCC 25922), E. cloacae (ATCC13047), K. pneumoniae (ATCC 13883), and P. aeruginosa (ATCC 227853)	Influencing the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria viability	[199]

France	European propolis/Populus nigra	Dichloromethane extract	Gram-negative: 7 Acinetobacter baumannii (RCH, SAN008, 12, AYE, CIP7034, 107292, and 5377), 2 Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922 and a clinical isolate), 3 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853 and two clinical isolates), and 4 clinical isolates of Enterobacter cloacae, E. aerogenes, Klebsiella oxytoca, and Salmonella enteritidis (phage type 4) Gram-negative: 13 Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923, six methicillin-susceptible clinical isolates, and six methicillin-resistant clinical isolates), 2 clinical isolates of S. epidermidis (methiS and methiR), 3 clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecalis and 1 E. faecium, and 1 clinical isolate of Corynebacterium striatum	Influencing the Gram-positive bacteria viability specially S. aureus and several of its methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible	[133]

Bulgaria	Mediterranean propolis	PEE	S. aureus 209; E. coli WF+,	Decrease of S. aureus growth and weak or lack of activity against E. coli	[28]
Greece	Populus spp.
Turkey	Conifer spp.
Algeria	Populus spp., Eucalyptus spp., and Castanea sativa Populus spp. Cistus spp.

Australia	Australian propolis from stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria/C. torelliana trees (fruit resins)	PEE	S. aureus (ATCC 25923); P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853)	Inhibition of S. aureus growth	[42]

Cameroon and Congo	African propolis/probably M. schweinfurthii	PEE	S. aureus (ATCC 25923), S. epidermis (ATCC 13047), E. coli (ATCC 25922), Klebsiella pneumonia (ATCC 13883), and P. aeruginosa (ATCC 227853)	Inhibition of S. aureus growth	[53]

Brazil	Green propolis/B. dracunculifolia	PEE	S. aureus 2979 and S. aureus 4118 isolated from mastitic cows, S. aureus (ATCC 29213)	Decrease of S. aureus growth in complex media and killing of S. aureus cells resuspended in milk; promotion of changes in morphology and cell size	[200]

Czech Republic	European propolis/Populus nigra	Dimethylsulfoxide extract	S. aureus (CAPM 5970), E. faecalis (CAPM 5613 (EBF/30/39)), E. coli (CAMP 3101^T (U 5/41)), and L. monocytogenes (CCM 5580)	Different concentrations affect the growth of the tested bacteria	[201]

Italy	Mediterranean propolis/Crupessus spp.	PEE	Staphylococcus spp. strains (35 S. aureus, 63 S. epidermidis, 7 S. hominis, 18 S. haemolyticus, 10 S. warneri, 4 S. capitis, and 3 S. auricularis) and Streptococcus spp. strains (59 S. faecalis, 30 S. viridans, 15 S. β-haemolyticus, and 19 S. pneumoniae)	Complete suppression of the factor coagulase, reduction of lipase and prevention of biofilm formation of Staphylococcus; increase of the effect of ampicillin, gentamycin, and streptomycin and moderating the action of chloramphenicol, ceftriaxone, and vancomycin	[56]

Brazil	Red propolis/D. ecastophyllum; Green propolis/B. dracunculifolia	PEE	S. aureus (ATCC 25923)	NanoHA matrix with red and green propolis which reduces bacterial growth and biofilm formation, the nanoHA with red propolis being the most efficient	[136]

Poland	European propolis/Populus nigra and some species of Betula alba, Alus glutinosa, Aesculus hippocastanum, Fagus sylvatica		Coagulase-positive S. aureus strains isolated from blood clinical samples, S. aureus (ATCC 25923), S. aureus (ATCC 43300), methicillin-sensitive and resistant S. aureus	Inhibition of S. aureus growth and bactericidal activity; potentiation of antistaphylococcal drugs action; effective against twelve S. aureus strains, with MIC values within 0.39 to 0.78 mg/mL and MBC within 0.78 to 3.13 mg/mL	[132]

Brazil; Bulgaria	Green propolis/B. dracunculifolia; Mediterranean propolis/Populus spp.;	PEE	S. typhi (00238)	Brazilian propolis having bacteriostatic activity; Bulgarian propolis having bactericidal activity; both having similar synergetic effect when in combination with amoxicillin, ampicillin, and cephalexin	[202]
			S. typhimurium Male BALB/c mice	Increase of bactericidal activity of macrophages	[203]
			S. typhimurium	Both samples having antibacterial activity but no synergistic effects with ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and cotrimoxazole	[135]

Turkey	Mediterranean propolis/Populus spp., Eucalyptus spp. and Castanea sativa	PWE	M. tuberculosis (H₃₇R_v), male guinea-pig	Inhibition of tuberculosis infection in guinea-pigs since it promotes a decrease in necrosis formation and increase in granuloma formation	[204]
Turkey		PEE	E. coli (ATCC 35218), K. pneumoniae (ATCC 27736), P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Morganella morganii (clinical isolate), S. aureus (ATCC 25923), B. subtilis (ATCC 6633), and Proteus vulgaris	Inhibition of Gram-negative bacteria growth	[134]
Purchased from Sigma Aldrich Co.	Characteristic of European propolis	CAPE	H. pylori	Competitive inhibitor against H. pylori peptide deformylase, blocking substrate entrance	[131]