Estudos de diferentes técnicas de extração do extrato de própolis

Abstract

In order to meet market demands, it becomes increasingly important to know new production methods for optimizing propolis extraction. These changes need to have a positive impact not only on production time but also on product quality. In relation to the propolis extract, the method most used today to carry out its extraction is maceration. However, this extraction method involves a large amount of time, usually 3 to 10 days. In addition to the large amount of time, it is necessary to maintain a high temperature throughout the extraction process, which makes the technique more expensive. Meanwhile, it is necessary that the extractor in which the maceration takes place is well sealed to avoid evaporation of solvents. Thus, the objective of this study is to analyze another way of performing the extraction of propolis. The present study focuses on ultrasonic extraction, aiming to reduce extraction time, improve production cost and avoid excessive evaporation of solvents. The study was carried out in the laboratory, carrying out tests using maceration and ultrasound techniques, varying factors such as the amount of propolis used, alcohol content of the initial solvent and process time. In this way, it was possible to make a comparison between the two types of extraction. After the tests were carried out, some analyzes were carried out for comparative effect, such as measurement of alcohol content, flavonoid content and dry extract. In addition to these analyses, a comparison was also made taking into account the amount of time used in each extraction method, as well as the temperature maintained in each of them. It was observed that the tests using the ultrasound extraction technique had similar results to the tests performed using the maceration technique, but in a much shorter time.