Total Phenolic, Flavonoid Contents and Antioxidant Activities of Honey and Propolis Collected from the Region of Laghouat (South of Algeria)

The aim of this study was to determine total phenolic, flavonoid contents and to evaluate antioxidant activities of two honeys and one propolis samples, collected from the region of Laghouat (South of Algeria). Total phenolic contents were determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent as gallic acid equivalent and flavonoids using AlCl3 method as Rutin equivalent. Antioxidant activities of the honeys and propolis were examined by two different methods, namely scavenging of free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and Reducing power. The antioxidant activities were compared with standard antioxidants such as Ascorbic acid, BHT and Trolox. The highest level of phenolic was 2385 mg Gallic acid per 100g sample, the highest level of flavonoid was 379 mg Rutin per 100g sample and the highest protein content was 1177 mg per 100g sample, DPPH (0.026 mg/ml) and TEAC (0.0015) were detected especially the propolis sample, indicating good antioxidant properties. A strong positive correlation was found between phenolics, flavonoids, DPPH and TEAC indicating that in addition to total phenolic, flavonoid and protein concentrations are good indicators of the antioxidant potential of propolis.