Ghaida Mustafa a b*, Bhagyashree Kamble a c, Shankar Katekhaye c, Mohammed Bensharada d, James Fearnley c, Anant Paradkar a
a – Centre for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science, School of Pharmacy, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK.
b – Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Khartoum, Qasr Avenue, Khartoum, Sudan.
c – Natures laboratory, Whitby, YO22 4NH, UK.
d – Analytical Centre, Faculty of life sciences, University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK.
Currently, there is a global trend towards the use of natural materials with valuable medicinal activities as safe substitutes for synthetic substances in dermatological and cosmetic products. Propolis is a natural beehive haemostat, synthesised by bees from plant exudates and other materials such as pollen, bee saliva and wax to seal holes and cracks in the hive.
From the ancient Egyptian time, propolis has been used traditionally for many purposes such as mummification and beautification. Numerous medicinal activities have been reported for propolis, interestingly antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, UV protection and antiaging properties. These properties can be utilized to formulate novel natural-based generations of sunscreens, antiaging preparations, and wound healing products from propolis. Hundreds of compounds have been detected in raw propolis, however, most of the identified medicinal properties of propolis are linked to the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids. The chemical composition of propolis varies according to altitude, climate, botanical origin of plant exudates, bee species and extraction solvent. Therefore, one of the bottleneck hurdles in the formulation of propolis is the standardization of the raw materials.
This study focuses on the assessment of two propolis samples from India and Turkey as cosmetic preparations pre-formulation assay. Samples were gifted by Nature’s Laboratory, Whitby, UK. Moisture and ash contents were analysed using Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) from 25 – 525 °C to understand the thermal behaviour of raw materials and to check their authentication (ash content). The presence of wax materials and phenolic compounds bands was detected by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). RP-HPLC was used to detect the presence of the flavonoid chrysin, and two phenolic acids (caffeic acid and ferulic acid) which are commonly related to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, UV protection and antiaging properties of propolis.
TGA results revealed that, both samples comply with regulatory requirements for moisture and ash contents. FTIR data shows that wax specific bands (2916, 2848 and 1736 cm -10 were of similar intensity between Indian and Turkish samples, however Turkish sample exhibits more intense phenolic compounds bands (1601, 1515, 1373, 1028 and 830 cm -1). RP-HPLC assay confirmed the presence of chrysin in both raw samples while caffeic acid was detected only in Turkish sample and ferulic acid was identified in Indian sample only.
These data will provide a standardized profile of the analysed raw propolis samples, offer an initial guidance in the rational selection of the propolis formulation technique and allow the monitoring of the desired compounds for cosmetic formulations.
