Preliminary Evaluation of Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Stingless Bees Propolis From Different Localities

Propolis is a resinous mixture collected from stingless bees and is reported to have various biological activities such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumor and hepatoprotective. Location where bees were bread plays an important role in determining the types and quality of propolis. This study aimed to investigate the effect of locality on antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of propolis. Stingless bee Heterotrigona itama propolis was collected from Besut (HI-BST), Dungun (HI-DGN), Tanah Merah (HI-TM) and Gua Musang (HI-GM). The antioxidant activity of these propolis was determined using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazy (DPPH) and 2, 2'-Azino-Bis-3-Ethylbenzothiazoline-6-Sulfonic Acid (ABTS). Cytotoxic and apoptotic activities of these propolis extracts were determined through 3-(4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetra-zolium Bromide (MTT Assay) and Annexin V/PI double staining method using flow cytometer. HI-BST propolis sample has the highest antioxidant capacity with IC50 value of 10 ± 2.623 ugmL-1 (DPPH free radical scavenging) and 30 ± 1.857 ugmL-1 (ABTS free radical scavenging) followed by HI-DGN and HI-GM. For cytotoxic and apoptotic evaluation, HI-BST has the highest cytotoxic, with IC50 value of 14 ± 0.910 ugmL-1 compare to other propolis samples. In apoptosis assay, at concentration of 14 µgmL-1 (IC50), there were 44.84% of cell undergoes early apoptosis while 38.81 % was a viable cell. Overall, data from this study shown that propolis collected form university’s apiary (HI-BST) is the best quality propolis compare to other location. Propolis from this location has good potential to be developed as health-related product