Baccharis dracunculifolia: Bee pasture formation, study of interactions with Apis mellifera and galling insects in the production of green propolis

Author(s)

Debora Munhoz Rodrigues

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Ribeirão Preto.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC)
• Defense date: 2017-09-01

Examining board members

Jairo Kenupp Bastos; Alberto Jose Cavalheiro; Vladimir Constantino Gomes Heleno

• Advisor: Jairo Kenupp Bastos

Abstract

Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae), popularly known as \"alecrim do campo\" or \"vassourinha\", is a Brazilian native plant widely distributed in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. This species stands out for the rich interaction with insects, galling insects and especially Apis mellifera, and in the production of secondary metabolites, which display important pharmacological activities. The interaction with bees A. mellifera allows the production of green propolis, produced from vegetative fragments, resinous and balsamic material of B. dracunculifolia. This species also has a rich interaction with galling insects, which form atypical structures in the plant tissue, known as galls. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the correlations between the secondary metabolites of B. dracunculifolia with galling insects and the visitation of A. mellifera in the production of green propolis. The individuals of B. dracunculifolia were cultivated in the cerrado region of the State of Minas Gerais, Bambuí-MG, and among the 400 planted species, 48 individuals of B. dracunculifolia, 24 females and 24 males, were investigated for the degree of galls infestation, number of visiting bees and the time of resin collection by the bees. Samples from plants and green propolis were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC-FID), for volatile components evaluation, and by liquid chromatography (HPLC-PDA), for evaluation of fixed components. Statistically, the data from field observations and quantifications of major components were analyzed by Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney and Spearman for statistical differences and correlations, respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed between males and females, with males showing higher infestation by galling insects and females more visited by bees, in which they also spent more time collecting resin for the production of green propolis. Correlations between trans-caryophyllene and compound D (phenolic compound not yet identified), with the number of bees and the time of resin collection were also observed. These two compounds had higher concentration values in females and seem to have a small contribution to the differences in visitation found between males and females of B. dracunculifolia. The gall with highest infestation was quantified and collected, being identified as the insect Baccharophelma dracunculifolia. It is also important to note that there was success in the bee pasture formation, since the bees are collecting resin from the plants cultivated in the research field in Bambuí - MG, allowing greater productivity and quality of the green propolis produced in this region (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/04148-8 - Baccharis dracunculifolia: bee pasture formation, study of interactions with Apis mellifera and galling insects in the production of green propolis
• Grantee: Debora Munhoz Rodrigues
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master