Study of antimicrobial effect of propolis from two different regions of Uganda

Abstract

This study aimed at determining the antimicrobial activity of two propolis samples from the Eastern and Northern regions of Uganda. The two propolis samples were tested against a Gram - positive bacterial strain MBYS12 by using disc diffusion method to determine the activity of the samples. The two propolis samples exhibited varied inhibitory activity both in undiluted and at different dilutions against the tested bacterial strain with the propolis sample from the northern region showing a higher activity compared to the propolis from eastern region. The zones of inhibition of propolis sample from northern region in millimeters were;19.00, 15.67, 13.67, 13.00, 12.33, 11.67, 10.67, 9.00 and 8.33, from the undiluted to the most diluted respectively. While the zones of inhibition for the propolis sample from the eastern region in millimeters were; 16.67, 13.33, 11.33, 10.33, 9.33,8.67, 8.00, 7.67 and 7.33 from the undiluted solution to the most diluted solution respectively. The variation in the inhibitory activity of the propolis samples is possibly due to the difference in the sources (origins) of the samples and the unestablished concentration of propolis from the Northern region. It is recommended that further studies involving more samples of propolis from various regions of Uganda should be carried out to determine the concentrations of active compounds in propolis.