Identificación y cuantificación de flavonoides y ácido cafeico en extractos de propóleos europeos mediante cromatografía líquida de alta eficacia

Abstract

European propolis is a product that has a number of therapeutic applications thanks to its complex chemical composition, among which flavonoids and caffeic acid are the main compounds; their study by chromatographic techniques has allowed their identification. The aim of this review was to evaluate the presence of flavonoids and caffeic acid in European propolis extracts using chromatographic methods for their identification and quantification. Therefore, we focused on considering which of the different chromatographic methods was the most reliable and suitable, taking into account the structure of the compounds and the advantages of the chosen instrument. The compilation of information resulted in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as the best method for the qualitative and quantitative determination of the metabolites under study, because in recent years it has gained great importance in industries and laboratories, due to its great versatility, stability, shorter analysis time, easy reproducibility and high resolution. In addition, several validation studies confirmed the linearity, selectivity, repeatability, reproducibility and accuracy of the method and instrument for the determination and quantification of flavonoids and phenolic acids present in propolis.