RESUMO
Propolis is a natural resinous compound produced by bees, mixed with their saliva and wax, and has a range of biological benefits, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This article reviews the in vivo transformation of propolis flavonoids and their potential influence on drug efficacy. Despite propolis is widely used, there is little research on how the active ingredients of propolis change in the body and how they interact with drugs. Future research will focus on these interactions and the metabolic fate of propolis in vivo.
RESUMO
The sequences of mitochondrial ND2, CO2, and 16S rRNA genes and nuclear ITPR gene were obtained from 22 samples of 5 Apis species from China. The characteristics of the sequences and the pairwise distances among species were analyzed. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed for Apis species using maximum parsimony, neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood methods together with the sequences of the other 4 Apis species downloaded from GenBank. Results supported that Apis species were divided into three major clusters: dwarf bees (A. florea and A. andreniformis), giant bees (A. dorsata and A. laboriosa), and cavity-nesting bees (A. mellifera, A. cerana, A. koschevnikovi, A. nigrocinta, and A. nuluensis). The dwarf honey bees were confirmed as basal lineage. Our study also revealed a high level of genetic divergence between A. dorsata from Hainan Island and China mainland.