Application of metabolite profiling and antioxidant activity in assessing the quality of processed and unprocessed stingless bee’s propolis

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of processing and extraction method on chemical profiles and antioxidant activity of Malaysian stingless bee propolis. High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) analysis in combination with chemometric shows that some of the compounds were degraded or not detected in processed sample, but the profiles were not affected by extraction method. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis shows that extraction methods significantly affect chemical profiles. Total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity were in agreement with HPTLC analysis, where unprocessed propolis possesses significantly higher TPC and antioxidant activity regardless of extraction method. This finding shows that metabolite profiling is a useful tool in assessing the quality of propolis.

Keywords: propolis; Heterotrigona itama; chemometric