| Honeycomb is a traditional Chinese medicine against various diseases such as rhinitis and hepatitis. However, little information is available on the bio-activities of honeycomb. Water extracts and ethanol extracts were prepared from Apis cerana cerana honeycomb and A. mellifera ligustica honeycomb. The antioxidant activities of the 4 different type extracts were evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH·) assay, the total phenolic contents of these samples were measured by the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent method, while the antimicrobial capabilities of the extracts were measured by the paper disc-agar diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureu, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. Based on the in vitro results, xylene-induced ear edema, acetic acid-induced vascular permeability and carrageenan-induced hind paw edema tests in mice were used to investigate anti-inflammatory activity. Furthermore, antibiotic residue of honeycomb was initially investigated.The in vitro results showed that the extracts of honeycomb were capable of scavenging free radicals and rich in phenolic, and strongly inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus; the water extracts perform better than the ethanol extracts; with the exception of the DPPH·scavenging acticity, the A. mellifera ligustica honeycomb over-performs the A. cerana cerana honeycomb; the bioactivities of the extracts of honeycomb show in a concentration-dependent manner.The in vivo results showed that both samples exhibited remarkable inhibition in xylene-induced ear edema model, carrageenan-induced hind paw edema model and the content of PGE2 in the inflammatory tissues, while they showed no anti-inflammatory against acetic acid-induced vascular permeability; Only the water extracts of A. cerana cerana honeycomb's bio-activities showed in a concentration-dependent manner.The results partly explained the use of honeycomb in traditional Chinese medicine. Moreover, honeycomb could be potential natural bio-resources. |
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