Propolis extracted by using new generation techniques comparison of physchemical properties and antioxidant capacity

Propolis is a resinous substance collected by honey bees from different plant sources and used by bees in the hive as a building material. It has been used by people for centuries for its beneficial properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, anticarcinogenic, antiinflammatory and antipretic. This bee product cannot be used raw because of the limited rate of utilization of bioactive components and the possibility of some allergic properties, and is therefore offered for consumption after extraction with solvents. However, preservation of the active components of propolis (phenols and flavonoids) during this process is very important. Therefore, the method used in the extraction of propolis is very important. In this study, in addition to maceration, which is a traditional extraction method, different extracts of propolis were obtained by using ultrasonic and microwave assisted extraction techniques which are considered among the new generation extraction techniques in recent years. Extraction time (1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 days) for maceration extraction; microwave power (50W, 100W, 200W, 400W, 500W) and extraction time (2, 4, 6, 8,10 min) for microwave assisted extraction; amplitude (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%) and extraction time (5, 10, 20, 30, 60 min) for ultrasound assisted extraction were selected as the independent variables. Total phenolic contents of these extracts by Folin-Ciocalteu method and total flavonoid contents by aluminum chloride method in addition to antioxidant capacities by CUPRAC, CERAC and DPPH methods were investigated. When three different extraction methods were compared, extract samples having the highest total flavonoid and phenolic contents were obtained by ultrasonic and maceration assisted extraction, respectively. However, it was observed that extracts with microwave extraction method had higher CERAC and DPPH values than maceration and ultrasonic assisted method.