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Cited by 213Bee Products Chemical AnalysisHealthcare and Venom ResearchWound Healing and Treatments

Propolis: a new frontier for wound healing?

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Martinotti, Simona, Ranzato, Elia·2015·Burns & Trauma
DOI 10.1186/s41038-015-0010-zPMC PMC4964312
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Abstract

Propolis is a resin produced by honeybees by mixing wax, pollen, salivary secretions, and collected natural resins. The precise composition of propolis varies with the source, and over 300 chemical components belonging to the flavonoids, terpenes, and phenolic acids have been identified in propolis. Moreover, its chemical composition is subjected to the geographical location, botanical origin, and bee species. Propolis and its compounds have been the focus of many works due to their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity; however, it is now recognized that propolis also possesses regenerative properties. There is an increasing interest in the healing potential of natural products, considering the availability and low cost of these products. Propolis contains a huge number of compounds that explicate some biological effects that speeds up the healing process and is widely used in folk remedies. This review aims to condense the results on the mechanism of activity of propolis and its compounds.

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  • The antibacterial activity of propolis is attributed to the synergism of phenolic acids and flavonoids, which inhibit nucleic acid synthesis and depolarize the cytoplasmic membrane, leading to bacterial death.

    “The antibacterial activity of propolis has been attributed to the synergism of the phenolic acids and flavonoids in its chemical composition; these molecules inhibit the nucleic acid synthesis and depolarize the cytoplasmic membrane, which leads to bacterial death [18,40,43,44].”

    From Anti-Inflammatory and Histological Analysis of Skin Wound Healing through Topical Application of Mexican Propolis (2023) · cites this paper as [18]

    The Review’s “Biological effects of propolis compounds” section says antibacterial effects may result from synergy among propolis compounds, while “Wound healing properties of propolis” attributes antimicrobial activity chiefly to flavonoids and also names coumaric and caffeic acid esters. Neither section states that these compounds inhibit bacterial nucleic acid synthesis or depolarize the cytoplasmic membrane, so the claimed mechanism of bacterial death is unsupported by this copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Research works printed but not linked: 59

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Martinotti, S., & Ranzato, E.
Affiliations
Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” (IT)
Corresponding author
Martinotti, Simona
ORCID
Venue
Burns & Trauma
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2015
Volume
3
Pages
9-9
ISSN
  • 2321-3868 (ISSN-L)
  • 2321-3876
DOI
10.1186/s41038-015-0010-z
PMC
PMC4964312
OpenAlex
W1502529558
Cited by
213
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 3
FWCI
0.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Burns & Trauma (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Bee Products Chemical Analysis
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Healthcare and Venom Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Rehabilitation › Wound Healing and Treatments
Keywords
propolis, wound healing, flavonoids, terpenes, phenolic acids, antimicrobial activity, anti-inflammatory activity, regenerative properties, natural products, honeybee resin, mechanism of action, burns

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