Propolis: pharmacokinetic study, development of countercurrent chromatography methods for isolation of compounds, a gravimetric method for quantifying waxes, and development of nanoparticles with medicarpin.

• Grant number: 24/10461-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Pharmacognosy
• Principal Investigator: Jairo Kenupp Bastos
• Grantee: Jairo Kenupp Bastos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: João Paulo Bianchi Ximenez ; Niege Araçari Jacometti Cardoso Furtado ; Priscyla Daniely Marcato Gaspari
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/16130-8 - Studies for the development of a gravimetric method for quantifying waxes in propolis produced by Apis mellifera L., BP.IC

Abstract

Brazil is one of the largest propolis producers in the world, highlighting green propolis from Baccharis dracunculifolia DC; red from Dalbergia ecastaphyllum (L.) Taub. and Symphonia globulifera L.f; and the brown from Araucaria sp. Red propolis stands out for its antitumor activity. Therefore, it is proposed to carry out the following complementary studies: development of methods using high-speed countercurrent chromatography to isolate the major constituents of red propolis; studies to develop a selective, feasible, and accessible gravimetric method for determining the wax content in different types of raw propolis and its hydroalcoholic extracts to be used in propolis companies; carrying out pharmacokinetic studies in healthy humans, involving the determination of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) activity before and after administration of red propolis extract, as well as intestinal permeability studies of prenylated benzophenones and its interaction with P-gp in Caco-2 cell line, if red propolis compounds in the human study cause inhibition or induction of this protein. Additionally, nanoparticulate oil/water formulations will be developed with medicarpin using oils from natural and synthetic sources. The final nanostructured formulation will be subjected to stability and release tests. Medicarpine and nanoparticle medicarpine will be evaluated in 2D and 3D cell culture models, in bladder cancer cells, and with cell death mechanism investigation. The results will contribute to developing new products in the pharmaceutical industry. (AU)