Determination of Quality Characteristics, Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Propolis from Southeastern Mexico

The objective of this work was to investigate the variability of physicochemical parameters, phenolic compounds and in vitro antioxidant activity of propolis collected from different apiaries in southeastern Mexico. A high variability was found in the moisture content (1.96–8.26%), ash (0.66–5.50%) and sensory characteristics of raw propolis from southeastern Mexico, but the raw propolis samples met the requirements of the quality regulations. In the same way, most of the ethanolic extracts also complied with the quality regulations. Of all the extracts, PE2 obtained from Santa Cruz showed the highest values for dry extract, content of total phenolic compounds (TPC), total flavonoids (TF) and antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS). The content of the individual phenolic compounds varied according to the geographical location of the apiary, but the PE2 extract resulted in the highest pinocembrin and chrysin content. A positive correlation was obtained between TPC and TF with antioxidant activity. Propolis extracts were classified into two groups through principal component analysis (PCA). These results indicate that the apiary location in southeastern Mexico influenced the characteristics of propolis.