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Propolis, particularly those produced by stingless bees, is known to have a broad range of medicinal benefits due to its antioxidant properties. However, its strong and unpleasant flavour and sticky texture make it less palatable. This study aimed to improve the oral administration of stingless bee propolis extract for nutraceutical use by formulating it into a microemulsion. The microemulsion was created using a water titration method and a pseudo-ternary phase diagram to determine the optimal surfactant: co-surfactant ratio. The formulation was then characterized for its globule size, pH, viscosity, and phenolic content, and subjected to stability tests under ambient and accelerated conditions. Anti-microbial and antioxidant activity were evaluated through the disk diffusion method and the ABTS assay. The microemulsion had an average droplet size of 229.2 nm, a pH of 4.78 ± 0.18, and a viscosity of 0.149 Pa, which falls within the typical range for oral formulations. The microemulsion successfully preserved the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the propolis extract. Long-term and accelerated stability studies indicated that the microemulsion's pH, appearance, and viscosity remained stable for up to 12 months, although there was a 24 % loss in phenolic activity over the same period. Overall, a stable and potent propolis microemulsion was successfully developed using pharmaceutical and food-grade ingredients, providing a safe and effective way to orally deliver propolis.

Propolis, a valuable resin from beehives has many potential health benefits. In this study, we examine the effects of addition of L-Leucine (LL) on the properties of propolis powder produced by spray and freeze drying. Gum Arabic (GA) with LL at different ratios were used as wall materials. Adding LL increases the yield of spray dried (SD) propolis powders, while hygroscopicity, flowability and reconstitution characteristics were affected by both drying method and LL concentration. Freeze dried (FD) powders were more porous as evident by the scanning electron micrographs and showed release of >90 % of compounds within 15 min in both gastric and intestinal media. SD powders were spherical and showed a sustained release of compounds in both media. The best powders were produced with a GA to LL ratio of 8:2 dried by spray drying at 120 °C or 150 °C and by freeze drying. These three optimized formulations showed greater yields (> 50 %), lower hygroscopicity (< 10 %) and moderate antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The formulations remained stable for up to 6 months at ambient temperature, but instability was observed at 40 °C. In conclusion, leucine addition facilitates the formation of SD and FD propolis powders with good properties.

Propolis, a substance produced by bees for hive construction, has piqued major interests for decades due to its potential biological properties including antimicrobial and antioxidant effects. These properties are contributed by its high polyphenol content which can vary based on the botanical origin of propolis. In this study, A. mangium and G. mangostana derived propolis were extracted using supercritical fluid extraction and the chemical species composition, total phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant activities were compared. Through untargeted mass spectrometry, we found the active compounds present within both propolis samples such as flavonoids, coumarins, terpenes, terpenoids, sugar alcohols and fatty acids. When compared, G. mangostana propolis showed higher antioxidant activity measured by superoxide dismutase enzyme, and had higher antibacterial effect against gram positive S. aureus. This correlated with its higher content of flavonoids compared to A. mangium derived propolis. Our study demonstrates how the difference in chemical composition of propolis derived from A. mangium and G. mangostana can affect their antioxidant and antibacterial properties and highlights its potential for use in nutraceuticals.