PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Propolis is a bee product mainly consisting of plant resins and is used by bees to maintain the structural integrity of the colony. Propolis is known to contribute to bee health via its antimicrobial activity and is a valued product for human use owing to its nutritional and medicinal properties. Propolis is often characterised into seven categories depending on the resin source. New Zealand propolis is typically assumed as being poplar-type propolis, but few studies have chemically characterised New Zealand propolis to confirm or reject this assumption. Here, for the first time, we characterise propolis originating from different regions in New Zealand based on its volatile organic compounds, using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). To support this characterisation, we also collected and analysed resin samples from a variety of resin-producing plants (both native to New Zealand and introduced). Our findings suggest that bees mainly use poplar as a resin source, but also utilize native plant species to produce propolis. While regional variation did not allow for clear separation between samples, some patterns emerged, with samples from some regions having more chemical complexity and a higher contribution from native species (as suggested by a higher number of compounds unique to native species resin). Further studies are needed to accurately identify the botanical sources contributing to these samples. It may be also of interest to explore the biological activity of regional propolis samples and their potential nutritional or medicinal benefits.
摘要：
蜂胶是一种主要由植物树脂组成的蜂产品，被蜜蜂用来保持蜂群的结构完整性。已知蜂胶通过其抗微生物活性有助于蜜蜂健康,并且由于其营养和药用特性而成为人类使用的有价值的产品。蜂胶通常根据树脂来源分为七类。新西兰蜂胶通常被认为是杨树型蜂胶，但是很少有研究对新西兰蜂胶进行化学表征以证实或拒绝这一假设。这里,第一次,我们根据其挥发性有机化合物来表征源自新西兰不同地区的蜂胶，使用气相色谱与质谱联用(GC-MS)。为了支持这种表征，我们还收集和分析了来自各种生产树脂的植物（原产于新西兰和引进）的树脂样品。我们的研究结果表明，蜜蜂主要使用杨树作为树脂来源，而且还利用本地植物物种生产蜂胶。虽然区域差异不允许样本之间的清晰分离，出现了一些模式，来自一些地区的样品具有更高的化学复杂性和来自天然物种的更高贡献(正如天然物种树脂特有的更高数量的化合物所暗示的)。需要进一步的研究来准确识别这些样品的植物来源。探索区域蜂胶样品的生物活性及其潜在的营养或药用益处也可能是有意义的。
