Propolis is a product made by bees, mixing resinous substances that collect from certain vegetables with pollen, impurities and their wax. It is used in food, cosmetics and personal hygiene, in veterinary medicine and even in humans. In the last years, beekeeping in Argentina has spread to extrapampean regions of great biodiversity, so the objectives of this work were: a) evaluate physico chemical parameters of propolis produced in three localities of the Tucumán province: Amaicha del Valle, Famaillá and Leales, b) apply the chemometric analysis to establish if they have patterns related to their geographical origin that allow to differentiate them. 44 samples were analyzed, determining the physic chemical pa- rameters: waxes, resins, mechanical impurities, total phenols and total flavonoids according to the IRAM-INTA 15935-1 standard. For the chemometric analysis, the principal components, cluster and discriminant analyzes were applied. The results obtained for the physical and chemical parameters showed agreement with others previously reported for propolis from northwestern Argentina, and also that those of Amaicha del Valle are associated with the content of mechanical impurities and total flavonoids, those of Leales with the waxes and those of Famaillá with resins and total phenols. In contrast to the requirements established in the Argentine Food Code, it turns out that all can be exploited, either processed or as raw propolis. The samples could be separated into two conglomerates and the physical-chemical parameters showed their discriminating capacity with respect to the geographical origin, which would allow to classify new samples in one of the three localities considered.

El propóleo es un producto que elaboran las abejas, mezclando sustancias resinosas que recolectan de ciertos vegetales con polen, impurezas y su cera. Es utilizado en alimentos, cosmética e higiene personal, medicina veterinaria e incluso en humanos. En los últimos años, la apicultura en Argentina se ha extendido a regiones extrapampeanas de gran biodiversidad, por lo que los objetivos del presente trabajo consistieron en: a) evaluar parámetros físicoquímicos de propóleos producidos en tres localidades de la provincia de Tucumán: Amaicha del Valle, Famaillá y Leales; b) aplicar el análisis quimiométrico para establecer si poseen patrones relacionados con su origen geográfico que permitan diferenciarlos. Se analizaron 44 muestras, determinándose los parámetros físicoquímicos: ceras, resinas, impurezas mecánicas, fenoles totales y flavonoides totales de acuerdo a la norma IRAM-INTA 15935-1. Para el análisis quimiométrico se aplicaron los análisis de componentes principales, de conglomerados y discriminante. Los resultados obtenidos para los parámetros físicoquímicos mostraron concordancia con otros informados previamente para propóleos del noroeste argentino y además que los de Amaicha del Valle se asocian con el contenido de impurezas mecánicas y flavonoides totales, los de Leales con las ceras y los de Famaillá con resinas y fenoles totales. Contrastando con los requisitos establecidos en el Código Alimentario Argentino resulta que todos pueden ser aprovechados, ya sea procesados o como propóleos en bruto. Las muestras pudieron separarse en dos conglomerados y los parámetros físicoquímicos mostraron su capacidad discriminante respecto del origen geográfico, lo que permitiría clasificar nuevas muestras en una de las tres localidades consideradas.

We determined the anti-inflammatory activity of standardized extracts of four medicinal plant species (Baccharis incarum, B. boliviensis, Chuquiraga atacamensis, Parastrephia lucida) that grow in the Argentine Puna (3800 m above sea level) and that are used to reduce oxidative stress and alleviate gout and arthritic pain. The extracts of plant aerial parts were standardized in terms of total phenolic compounds and flavone/flavanone content and free radical scavenging activity. All extracts showed high phenolic compound concentration (0.5-1.6 mg/mL), mainly flavones and flavonols (0.1-0.8 mg/mL). The extracts showed hydrogen donating ability (DPPH and ABTS) and reactive oxygen species scavenging activity (O2●-, OH-, H2O2). The ability of the extracts to inhibit cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2) was determined by calculating percent inhibition of PGE2 production measured by enzyme immunoassay. All extracts inhibited both enzymes with IC50 values of 2.0 to 16.7 µg/mL. The anti-inflammatory activity of B. incarum and C. atacamensis extracts was higher than that of B. boliviensis and P. lucida. The IC50 values obtained for indomethacin were 0.11 and 0.78 µM for COX-1 and COX-2, respectively. The present results are consistent with the anecdotal use of these species in phytotherapic preparations.