Result: Chemical Profiling and Geographic Differentiation of Ugandan Propolis by GC-MS Through Chemometric Modelling.

Title:
Chemical Profiling and Geographic Differentiation of Ugandan Propolis by GC-MS Through Chemometric Modelling.
Authors:
Kahwa I; Institute for Drug Discovery, Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University, 04317 Leipzig, Germany.; Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara P.O. Box 1410, Uganda.; Pharm-Biotechnology and Traditional Medicine Centre, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara P.O. Box 1410, Uganda.; Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany., Kaysser L; Institute for Drug Discovery, Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University, 04317 Leipzig, Germany., Wangalwa R; Pharm-Biotechnology and Traditional Medicine Centre, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara P.O. Box 1410, Uganda.; Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara P.O. Box 1410, Uganda., Billig S; Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany., Tusiimire J; Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara P.O. Box 1410, Uganda., Wiesner C; Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.; German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Leipzig-Jena, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
Source:
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) [Molecules] 2025 Nov 16; Vol. 30 (22). Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Nov 16.
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Language:
English
Journal Info:
Publisher: MDPI Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 100964009 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1420-3049 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14203049 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Molecules Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):
Original Publication: Basel, Switzerland : MDPI, c1995-
MeSH Terms:
Propolis*/chemistry , Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry*/methods , Chemometrics*, Uganda ; Geography ; Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis ; Volatile Organic Compounds/chemistry ; Multivariate Analysis
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Grant Information:
100195810 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, Europäischer Fond für Regionale Entwicklung EFRE, "Europe funds Saxony"
Contributed Indexing:
Keywords: GC-MS analysis; Ugandan propolis; agroecological variation; chemometric profiling; terpenoid biomarkers
Substance Nomenclature:
9009-62-5 (Propolis)
0 (Volatile Organic Compounds)
Entry Date(s):
Date Created: 20251127 Date Completed: 20251127 Latest Revision: 20251130
Update Code:
20251130
PubMed Central ID:
PMC12655498
DOI:
10.3390/molecules30224435
PMID:
41302492
Database:
MEDLINE

Further Information

Propolis is a resinous substance collected by honeybees, and its long-known bioactivity urged research on its exact composition on active ingredients. It was suggested that chemical composition reflects the botanical sources and environmental conditions of its origin; however, information on differences related to geographical origin is still incomplete. Therefore, this study aimed to characterise the volatile and semi-volatile chemical constituents of Ugandan propolis from nine agro-ecological zones using headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) and derivatisation-based GC-MS, coupled with multivariate statistical analysis. In total, 213 volatile and 169 non-volatile compounds were tentatively identified, including monoterpenes (α-pinene), sesquiterpenes (α-copaene), triterpenoids (β-amyrin acetate), diterpene resin acids (abietic acid), phenolic acids (caffeic acid), alkylresorcinols (bilobol) and many others. Multivariate chemometric modelling using partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), orthogonal PLS-DA (oPLS-DA) showed strong geographic discrimination of samples (Q <sup>2</sup> > 0.90) for several district comparisons. Heatmap clustering and variable importance in projection (VIP) analysis identified chemical markers. Notably, oPLS-DA revealed excellent discrimination between Nakasongola and Bushenyi, and between Adjumani and Bushenyi, in both volatile and non-volatile datasets. The findings provide the first comprehensive chemical profiling of Ugandan propolis, demonstrating the utility of combined GC-MS approaches and multivariate analysis for regional differentiation. This work lays the groundwork for standardising propolis preparations and establishing appropriate quality control in pharmacological applications.