LAUSR

Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides is a specie of stingless bee able to produce propolis, a product known to have different biological activities. Propolis is obtained from the mixture of plant exudates and mandibular secretions of the bees, which confers a wide diversity of bioactive compounds. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and antimutagenic activities of ethanol extracts of propolis obtained from the M. q. anthidioides. The antioxidant action was evaluated in the wildtype N2 strain of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, being incubated with the juglone oxidizing agent for 6 hours. To investigate the antimutagenic potential of extract, strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae D7 diploid (ATCC 201137) were incubated with the mutagenic agent ethyl methanesulfonate. As results, the nematodes treated with 100 μg/mL of propolis extract presented 10.9 ± 3.4% of viability, after 6 hours of incubation with the oxidizing agent. In this period, nematodes incubated only with juglone showed mortality of all individuals. In addition, the propolis extract presented antimutagenic activity, resulting in a reduction in the number of revertant colonies in 82.9 ± 0.5% and to reduce the amount of mutant colonies by 93.3 ± 0.6 %, at a concentration of 3.0 mg/mL, compared to the control group. In conclusion, this study shows that the propolis produced by M. q. anthidioides presents potential to be used in the prevention or treatment of diseases related to oxidative stress and mutagenesis.