POTENT FREE-RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY OF PROPEL ISOLATED FROM BRAZILIAN PROPOLIS

We evaluated free radical scavenging activity of the water, methanol a nd chloroform extracts of propolis in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (D PPH) free radical and xanthine-xanthine oxidase (XOD) generated supero xide anion assay systems. The free radical scavenging activity guided fractionation and chemical analysis led to the isolation of a new comp ound, propol {3-[4-hydroxy-3-(3-oxo-but-1-enyl)-phenyl]-acrylic acid} from the water extract, which was more potent than most common antioxi dants such as vitamin C and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) in these assa y systems.