OBTENTION OF PROPOLIS EXTRACT AND IN VITRO EVALUATION OF ITS ANTIOXIDANT EFFECT IN ASSOCIATION OR NOT WITH VITAMIN E ACETATE

TF18

Ana Carolina Arruda Bezerra - carolfarma28@itelefonica.com.br

Gisele Mara Silva Gonçalves

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DE CAMPINAS

The skin, after intense exposure to the sun, shows immediate signs, as well as chronic and permanent damage, from aging to the incident of cancer. To protect the skin of early aging there are several classes of active substances and products to be used during or after exposure, as the sunscreens, and antioxidant substances. Propolis is a resin obtained mainly from the bee Apis mellifera, and its chemical composition varies due to biodiversity, where more than 300 constitutes have been identified, such as phenols and flavonoids, which have antioxidant potential, among others, and that make the propolis an important object of study for many different pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications, including antiaging purpose. A substance proposed for association with propolis is the vitamin E acetate, once it is known for its antioxidant potencial against the free radicals. The objectives of the present study were to obtain the extract of propolis and to evaluate the antioxidant effect of propolis in association or not with the vitamin E acetate. Green propolis obtained from the south of Minas Gerais (Brazil) was macerated in absolute ethanol. The extract obtained was hydrolysed and analysed by thin-layer chromatography (mobile phase: methanol: distilled water: formic acid (40:57:3); spray solution: ethanolic solution of 5% aluminum chloride and 5% ferric chloride; pattern: quercetin). The antioxidant capacity was evaluated by the method of ferric thiocyanate  of four different solutions in ethanol: butylhydroxytoluene 0.01%; extract of propolis 5%; vitamin E acetate 2%; mixture of propolis extract 5% and vitamin E acetate 2%. The presence of quercetin in the propolis extract was confirmed. All samples showed antioxidant potential. The propolis extract provided an inhibition higher when compared with the control, the vitamin E acetate higher and the mixture of propolis extract with vitamin E acetate provided an inhibition of oxidation higher compared with the control, in other words, both propolis and acetate tocoferila have antioxidant effect and these substances in association were more effective. Under the present experimental conditions, we observed that the obtained extract showed quercetin in its composition. Both propolis extract and vitamin E acetate presented antioxidant effect, and the association had the best antioxidant potential. Thus, this result can be regarded as very favourable in terms of prevention of premature aging of the skin when these compounds are added in a topical formulation, because it indicates the possibility of protecting the skin from the reactive oxygen species and other factors, such as environmental pollution.