Over the last years, the hive products such as propolis and pollen have been
highlighted due to their potential health benefits, including antioxidant abilities that
have been correlated with their content in phenolic compounds. Regardless of the
several factors that may affect propolis and pollen antioxidant activity, these products
have been shown to possess, either through the use of in vitro or in vivo models,
important features concerning the modulation of cellular oxidative stress caused by
environmental factors (e.g. UV-light), metals, pesticides and other xenobiotics. This
modulatory effect focus not only on the capture of radicals that these elements might
eventually generate, but also by the activation of cellular antioxidant mechanisms such
as enzymatic antioxidants or by modifying gene expression patterns. Although the
mechanisms behind these responses are not fully known, it has been showed that
caffeic acid phenethyl ester, pinocembrin and chrisin are some of the compounds
responsible for some of these responses. Taking into account the gathered results,
propolis and pollen can be viewed as potential agents in the re-stabilization of cellular
oxidative imbalance and in the prevention of oxidative stress related diseases.
Keywords: Antioxidant activity, Antioxidant defenses, Antioxidant enzymes, CAPE catalase, Chrysin, DPPH, Glutathione, Glutathione peroxidase, Hive, Lipidoxidation, Oxidative stress, Phenolic compounds, Pinocembrin, Pollen, Propolis, ROS.
