Journal of Ethn~phurmac~logy, 35 ( 199 I ) R-82 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd. 7-l Antibacterial, antifungal, antiamoebic, antiinflammatory and antipyretic studies on propolis bee products Jan W. Dobrowolski”, S.B. Vohorab, Kalpana Sharmab, Shaukat A. Shahb, S.A.H. Naqvib and P.C. Dandiyab UInsfitute of Management and Protection of Environment, Krakow {Poland) and ‘departments of Pharmacolag~, Biochemistry and ~icro~~~~~gy, ~~mdard University, P.O. ~~rndard Nugar, New Lk#zi-I IO W2 {India) (Accepted June 5. 1991) Propolis bee preparations revealed good antibacterial (particularly against Gram-positive bacteria), antifungal (against those re- sponsible for superficial and dermatomycoses) and antiinflammatory (against acute and chronic models of inflammation) effects but no antiamoebic or antipyretic capacity. Key wwds: bee products; propolis: antimicrobial; antiinflammatory; antipyretic: antiamoebic Introduction Apitherapy or therapy with bee products (e.g. honey, pollen, propolis, fortified honey, herb honey, etc.) is an old tradition which has been revived by recent researches (International Sym- posium on Apitherapy, 1985). These products, which are used both as health foods and medicine, are receiving renewed attention worldwide because of their beneficial effects and a general ‘back to nature’ trend. Propolis is a resinous wax-like substance which bees collect from plants and use as glue or putty to line their hives and fill up cracks. It invariably con- tains pollen grains which are a rich source of essential elements, e.g. Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Ni, etc. (Dobrowolski, 1987). Propolis products are claimed to be useful in a variety of ailments in- cluding infectious diseases (Grochowski et al., 1987) and arthritis (Zielonka et al., 1987). Con- sidering these claims, antibacterial, antifungal, an- tiinflammatory and antipyretic studies on three propolis preparations were, therefore, undertaken, Correspondence to: Prof. P.C. Dandiya. Department of Phar- macology, Hamdard University, P.O. Hamdard Nagar. New Delhi I IO 062. India. Since the Rheumatic Diseases Foundation (De Fabio, 1982) has indicated that certain rheumatoid diseases may be the result of infection with an amoeba, we decided to include antiamoebic studies in the present investigation. Materials and Meth~ Natural materials The following products were procured from APIPOL, the Polish Bee Keepers Association Laboratories at Krakow (Poland): (i) propolis granules (PG) containing 300 mg propolis per gram; (ii) drazteki propo~~sowe (red coloured tablets, PR) containing 350 mg propolis per tablet with a mean tablet weight of 1.2 g; and (iii) naturalany pszczeli pylek kwaiatowy (yellow col- oured tablets, PY) containing 350 mg pollen grains per tablet of mean weight 1.2 g. Aqueous solutions or suspensions of these materials in 1% gum acacia were used for all investigations. Penicillin (IDPL, Rishikesh), streptomycin (Hindustan Antibiotics, Pune), tetracycline (Pfizer, Bombay), griseofulvin (Glaxo, Bombay), metronidazole (May and Baker, Bombay), phenylbutazone (Alembic, Baroda), flurbiprofen (FDC, Bombay) and hydrocortisone acetate (Wyeth, Bombay) were used as standards for comparison. 0378-g74l/SO3.50 0 1991 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd. Published and Printed in Ireland