Chemical and biological studies on the functions of propolis

蜂胶是蜜蜂从某些树木和植物的芽和分泌物中收集的天然防腐剂，用于保护蜂巢免受敌人的侵害。它在世界许多地区被用作民间药物。本研究采用化学和生物学方法对枸杞子的功能进行了评价。特别是，从济州岛（韩国）和所罗门群岛进行了化学分析，我们确定了几个新的化合物。此外，我们还寻找了来自冲绳水仙的抗血管生成化合物，冲绳水仙的乙醇提取物在体外和体内测定系统中显示出显著的抗血管生成活性，并且我们通过研究管形成的抑制来评估冲绳水仙的主要成分宁菲醇-A的抗血管生成作用的作用模式，以及使用人脐静脉内皮细胞的存活信号和凋亡途径的变化。

Propolis is a natural resinous substance collected by honeybees from buds and exudates of certain trees and plants to protect their beehive from enemies. It is used as folk medicine in many regions of the world. In this study, chemical and biological methods were applied to evaluate the functions of propolis. In particular, chemical analyses of the propolis from Jeju (Korea) and the Solomon Islands were carried out, and we determined several new compounds from them. In addition, we searched for antiangiogenic compounds from propolis, the ethanol extracts of Okinawan propolis showed significant antiangiogenic activities in vitro and in vivo assay systems, and we evaluated the modes of action of antiangiogenic effects of the major component of Okinawan propolis, nymphaeol-A by investigating the inhibition of tube formation, as well as changes in survival signals and apoptotic pathways using human umbilical vein endothelial cells.