CIMO-Escola Superior Agrária, School of Agriculture, Instituto Politécnico de Braganca, Braganca, Portugal.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2011 Feb;49(2):520-6. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2010.11.042. Epub 2010 Dec 3.
Propolis is a resinous substance collected from plants by bees. Its composition depends on the vegetation, the season, and the source area. It usually contains many chemical compounds such as polyphenols, steroids and amino acids. The hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is a type of anaemia characterized by microcytic and hyperchromic red cells, spherical in shape and without central pallor. Clinically, subjects present from asymptomatic conditions to severe haemolytic anaemia. In this study it was evaluated the effect of two propolis extracts in the osmotic fragility of HS patient red blood cell (RBC) membrane. It was found that propolis decreases the erythrocytes membrane fragility, being the effect of Bornes propolis more pronounced than Fundão propolis'. This effect was related with the higher phenolic content of the former propolis. The results obtained in vitro suggest that the membrane fragility increases under oxidative stress conditions for the patient RBC's and the protection effect of propolis is due to its antioxidant properties. These results open doors for future investigations in order to elucidate the mechanisms, identify the main compounds involved in this fragility protection of the erythrocyte membrane. This is the first work reporting an evaluation of the propolis effect in a blood disease.
蜂胶是蜜蜂从植物中采集的树脂状物质。其组成取决于植被、季节和来源地区。它通常含有许多化学物质，如多酚、类固醇和氨基酸。遗传性血球病（HS）是一种以小红细胞、高色素、球形和中央苍白缺失为特征的贫血症。临床上，患者表现为无症状至严重溶血性贫血。在这项研究中，评估了两种蜂胶提取物对 HS 患者红细胞（RBC）膜渗透性脆性的影响。结果发现蜂胶降低了红细胞膜的脆性，而 Bornes 蜂胶的效果比 Fundão 蜂胶更为显著。这种效果与前者蜂胶中更高的酚类含量有关。体外研究结果表明，患者 RBC 膜在氧化应激条件下的脆性增加，而蜂胶的保护作用是由于其抗氧化特性。这些结果为未来的研究开辟了道路，以阐明机制，确定参与红细胞膜脆性保护的主要化合物。这是第一个报告蜂胶对血液疾病影响的评估的工作。
