Skip to main content
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine logoLink to Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
. 1990 Mar;83(3):159–160. doi: 10.1177/014107689008300310

Antibacterial properties of propolis (bee glue).

J M Grange 1, R W Davey 1
PMCID: PMC1292560  PMID: 2182860

Abstract

Propolis (bee glue) was found to have antibacterial activity against a range of commonly encountered cocci and Gram-positive rods, including the human tubercle bacillus, but only limited activity against Gram-negative bacilli. These findings confirm previous reports of antimicrobial properties of this material, possibly attributable to its high flavonoid content.

Full text

PDF
159

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aspoy E. Propolis ved selektiv dyrkning av Listeria monocytogenes. Nord Vet Med. 1977 Oct;29(10):440–445. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cizmárik J., Trupl J. Propolis-Wirkung auf Hautpilze. Pharmazie. 1976;31(1):55–55. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Grunberger D., Banerjee R., Eisinger K., Oltz E. M., Efros L., Caldwell M., Estevez V., Nakanishi K. Preferential cytotoxicity on tumor cells by caffeic acid phenethyl ester isolated from propolis. Experientia. 1988 Mar 15;44(3):230–232. doi: 10.1007/BF01941717. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Havsteen B. Flavonoids, a class of natural products of high pharmacological potency. Biochem Pharmacol. 1983 Apr 1;32(7):1141–1148. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(83)90262-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kleinrok Z., Borzecki Z., Scheller S., Matuga W. Biological properties and clinical application of propolis. X. Preliminary pharmacological evaluation of ethanol extract of propolis (EEP). Arzneimittelforschung. 1978;28(2):291–292. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lepekhin V. N., Leonova T. A. Antimikrobnye svoistva propolisa. Stomatologiia (Mosk) 1970 Jul-Aug;49(4):16–19. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Madarová L. Antibakteriálne vlastnosti propolisu. Cesk Stomatol. 1980 Jul;80(4):304–307. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Maksimova-Todorova V., Manolova N., Gegova G., Serkedzhieva Iu, Uzunov S. Antivirusno deistvie na niakoi fraktsii, izolirani ot propolis. Acta Microbiol Bulg. 1985;17:79–85. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Metzner J., Bekemeier H., Paintz M., Schneidewind E. Zur antimikrobiellen Wirksamkeit von Propolis und Propolisinhaltsstoffen. Pharmazie. 1979;34(2):97–102. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Metzner J., Bekemeier H., Schneidewind E., Schwaiberger R. Bioautographische Erfassung der antimikrobiell wirksamen Inhaltsstoffe von Propolis. Pharmazie. 1975 Dec;30(12):799–800. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Nikulin I. M., Lisitsyna L. Ia, Tikhonov A. I., Shcherbina V. D., Stebliuk P. N. Rimenenie propolisa pri vospalitel'nykh zabolevaniiakh dykhatel'nykh putei. Zh Ushn Nos Gorl Bolezn. 1979 Nov-Dec;(6):9–12. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Pepeljnjak S., Jalsenjak I., Maysinger D. Growth inhibition of bacillus subtilis and composition of various propolis extracts. Pharmazie. 1982 Dec;37(12):864–865. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rode M., Filipic B., Herman O. Dezinfekcija rok stomatologov z 10% alkoholno raztopino propolis. Zobozdrav Vestn. 1977 Summer;32(5-6):137–142. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Scheller S., Ilewicz L., Luciak M., Skrobidurska D., Stojko A., Matuga W. Biological properties and clinical application of propolis. IX. Experimental observation on the influence of ethanol extract of propolis (EEP) on dental pulp regeneration. Arzneimittelforschung. 1978;28(2):289–291. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Scheller S., Stojko A., Szwarnowiecka I., Tustanowski J., Obuszko Z. Biological properties and clinical application of propolis. VI. Investigation of the influence of ethanol extracts of propolis (EEP) on cartilaginous tissue regeneration. Arzneimittelforschung. 1977;27(11):2138–2140. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Scheller S., Szaflarski J., Tustanowski J., Nolewajka E., Stojko A. Biological properties and clinical application of propolis. I. Some physico-chemical properties of propolis. Arzneimittelforschung. 1977;27(4):889–890. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Simúth J., Trnovský J., Jeloková J. Inhibition of bacterial DNA-dependent RNA polymerases and restriction endonuclease by UV-absorbing components from propolis. Pharmazie. 1986 Feb;41(2):131–132. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Starzyk J., Scheller S., Szaflarski J., Moskwa M., Stojko A. Biological properties and clinical application of propolis. II. Studies on the antiprotozoan activity of ethanol extract of propolis. Arzneimittelforschung. 1977;27(6):1198–1199. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Stojko A., Scheller S., Szwarnowiecka I., Tustanowski J., Ostach H., Obuszko Z. Biological properties and clinical application of propolis. VIII. Experimental observation on the influence of ethanol extract of propolis (EEP) on the regeneration of bone tissue. Arzneimittelforschung. 1978;28(1):35–37. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Tikhonov A. I., Gendrolis A. A. Rozchyn "Propomiks"--krapli dlia ochei z polifenol'nym preparatom propolisu. Farm Zh. 1977 Jul-Aug;32(4):81–86. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Zumla A., Lulat A. Honey--a remedy rediscovered. J R Soc Med. 1989 Jul;82(7):384–385. doi: 10.1177/014107688908200704. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine are provided here courtesy of Royal Society of Medicine Press

RESOURCES