• Propolis is a product derived from the secretion of some types of trees and shrubs
(most often poplar, oak, apple, chestnut, ash, alder, birch, pine and fir), and
which worker bees collect partly from the buds and partly from the bark of
young branches, because they secrete it the most.
.
• It is a resinous and sticky substance with a pleasant and characteristic
smell, greenish, yellow to dark red, rarely black in color. It has a bitter taste.
• Composition: Propolis contains over 200 different ingredients: polyphenols
(flavonoids, phenolcarbolic acids and their esters),
terpenoids, steroids, amino acids, vitamins, phenolic aldehydes, alcohols,
ketones, sesquiterpene quinones, coumarins and mineral substances.
• The plant origin of propolis determines its chemical diversity
composition. The composition of propolis depends on the local flora at the
place of collection, the time of collection, as well as on the geographical and
climatic characteristics of that area.
• Despite large differences in composition, most samples of raw propolis
shares a significant similarity in its general chemical composition: it has the most
resinous substances (50-55%), up to 10% wax, 10% essential oil, 5% pollen
and 5% other organic components.
