ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF PROPOLIS EXTRACTS: A CLOSER LOOK AT GLYCOLIC SOLVENT EFFECTS

Propolis' primary ingredients are weakly soluble in water, oil, and other medical solvents but highly soluble in ethanol. The production of propolis glycolic extracts was published 20 years ago and some authors suggested that the biological effects of these extracts could resemble those of the ethanolic extract. Despite the fact that this technique is widely used by businesses to produce non-alcoholic extracts, this communication aims to warn that glycolic solutions may have bactericidal effects per se. As a result, the glycolic solutions would be viewed as both a solubilizer and a component that will provide the extract its bactericidal properties.