Innovative Methods for the Extraction and Chromatographic Analysis of Honey-Bee Products

The aim of this study was to provide an overview of recent techniques developed for the chemical characterization of raw propolis, based on the determination of polyphenols and volatile compounds, which are responsible for the biological activity of the extracts widely used in apitherapy. The analysis of polyphenols, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, was performed by RP-HPLC coupled with UV/DAD and MS detection. As regards the extraction of polyphenols from raw propolis, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) was carried out for these constituents and its parameters were optimized by means of response surface experimental design methodology. The characterization of propolis volatile compounds was based on GC coupled with MS detection. In this ambit, a suitable HS-SPME extraction procedure was developed using a PDMS fiber. These chromatographic techniques were applied to raw propolis samples collected from different Italian regions to determine their fingerprinting, thus providing new and reliable tools for the complete chemical characterization of this biologically active material.