Caracterización y actividad antioxidante de propóleos de diferentes zonas apícolas de la provincia de Chimborazo utilizados en la Empresa APICARE - Riobamba

Abstract

The Antioxidant Activity of propolis samples from four beekeeping areas such as Socorro, Nitiluisa and Chambo corresponding to the province of Chimborazo and Virgen de Fátima in the province of Guayas, used as raw material in the elaboration of products in the company Apicare Cía. Ltda. in the city of Riobamba, was determined. The research was carried out in laboratories of the Faculty of Sciences of the Polytechnic School of Chimborazo. Based on experimental methods, the inhibitory activity of apple polyphenoloxidase was confirmed in these samples of propolis, thus assuring the quality as raw material in the elaboration of products in the company. The quality control of raw materials was carried out on propolis with the Russian Standard RTS-RSFSR-317-77. The Folin-Ciocalteau method was used to quantify phenolic compounds; the results were expressed as mg of gallic acid (GA) per 100 g of sample, and the following values were determined: 3 752 mg in Socorro, 3 160 mg in Nitiluisa, 2 572 mg in Chambo and 2 965 mg in Virgen de Fátima. For flavonoids, the Aluminum Trichloride (AlCl3) method was applied, reporting values in mg of rutin per 100 g of sample of 112 mg; 197 mg; 106 mg; 91 mg for each zone, respectively. The propolis sample with the best polyphenoloxidase inhibitory capacity was from the Chambo zone, presenting 72.22 % at 10 ppm, 67.34 % at 100 ppm and 75.94 % at 1 000 ppm, in comparison to Vitamin C. It is concluded that propolis from each of these areas has a good antioxidant activity, due to the content of phenolic compounds. It is recommended to carry out studies applying other methods and experimental models to quantify antioxidant activity to complement the present research.