1.Antimicrobial Activity of Malaysian Apis mellifera Propolis against Propionibacterium acnes
Tuan Nadrah Naim Tuan Ismail ; Siti Amrah Sulaiman ; Kannan Thirumulu Ponnuraj ; Muhammad Termizi Hassan ; Norul Badriah Hassan
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2022;18(No.1):171-176
Introduction: Acne vulgaris is a common skin disease that affects people all over the world. One of the main pathogenesis of acne is Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) proliferation. Propolis has long been used in folk medicine
as a natural remedy. Its antimicrobial properties have all been studied extensively. However, there have been few
studies on its use in acne. Thus, the goal of this study was to assess the antimicrobial potential of ethanolic (EEP) and
water extracts (WEP) of Malaysian Apis mellifera propolis against P. acnes. Methods: Propolis samples were collected from Acacia mangium apiary from northern and southern regions of Peninsular Malaysia. The propolis extracts
were screened for antimicrobial activity against P. acnes using an agar well diffusion assay. The minimum inhibitory
concentrations (MICs) of the extracts were determined using a resazurin broth microdilution assay. Results: The antimicrobial screening demonstrated all extracts had antimicrobial activity against P. acnes. The inhibition zones at
concentration 20 mg/ml were in the range of 16 mm to 24 mm which was greater than positive control (10% benzoyl
peroxide) (15 mm). The EEP from northern region showed the lowest MIC values (0.32 µg/ml), followed by EEP from
southern region (0.63 µg/ml), WEP from southern region (625 µg/ml) and WEP from northern region (2500 µg/ml).
Conclusion: The Malaysian EEP demonstrated promising antimicrobial properties against P. acnes. Further study is
needed to determine the active constituents and their possible inhibitory mechanisms against P. acnes.