Investigation of content and quality qualities of propolis in the national market and evaluation according to legal legislation

Propolis (bee glue) is a sticky, dark colored sticky substance that honey bees use for various purposes in the hive by adding wax to the resin found in the buds and shoots of various plants.Propolis contains more than three hundred chemicals with various bioactivities.Propolis is an important bee product used as a natural medicine with its antibacterial, antifungal, antitumoral, antioxidative, immunomodulatory and other beneficial activities and in this study, it was aimed to determine the various physical, chemical and biological properties of 14 liquid propolis samples, 7 of which are water-based and 7 are alcohol-based, which are commercially available.Also, in this study standardization of propolis extracts has been evaluated with current legislation, and data that will form a source for the legislation have been obtained according to the analysis results. As a result of this study, the factors affecting the quality criteria of propolis were determined. The phenolic acid and antioxidant capacity of propolis dissolved with ethyl alcohol were found to be higher than those dissolved with water and significant (p<0.05) according to the t-test. Similarly, samples dissolved with alcohol gave higher values in Brix determination. Heavy metal contents in all samples are within the limits in accordance with the legislation.Although there is no limit for arsenic in the legislation, a level higher than 1000 ppb was found in 5 samples. Although the phenolic acid composition varies, it is thought that factors such as the dissolution method of propolis, its duration and the geographical origin of propolis affect these values. With this study, it was concluded that it is possible to establish a standard that determines the quality criteria for propolis belonging to a certain region.