Effects of honey bee race and season on propolis composition

Propolis is a resinous product with a complex structure. The composition of raw propolis depends on many factors such as flora of the area, harvesting season, collection style and bee strain. But with these differences all propolis samples contains flavonoids, aromatic acids, diterpenic acids and phenolic compounds and these components are responsible for its antitumor, anticancer, antiviral and antifungal effects.  In this study, effect of season and bee races on propolis composition were investigated. The chemical profile of the propolis was characterised by using HPLC-UV. The amount of total phenolics, total flavonoids, total antioxidant capacity as ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) and free radical scavenging activity as shown by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were determined. Propolis samples were collected from May to September in Duzce Province, Turkey, from five different honey bee types consisting of three races ( Apis mellifera caucasica, Apis mellifera syriaca, and Apis mellifera carnica ) and two ecotypes (Yigilca and Mugla) indigenous to central Anatolia. The results revealed that the genetic differences of bee colonies and the gathering time affected the phenolic composition and antioxidant properties of the raw propolis. In addition, the study indicated that higher quality propolis could be obtained from bees that live in suitable habitats.