A própolis é uma substância resinosa coletada de diversas partes das plantas por abelhas e misturada à cera, pólen e secreções salivares. Sua composição é complexa e está relacionada, principalmente, às características da vegetação de cada região. Trinta e três amostras de própolis foram coletadas em quatro regiões brasileiras (Nordeste, Sudeste, Sul e Centro-Oeste) e analisadas quanto à sua capacidade antioxidante, pela oxidação acoplada do sistema β-caroteno/ácido linoleico. Variação significativa na capacidade antioxidante (51,33-92,70%) foi observada de acordo com a região onde a amostra foi coletada. A capacidade antioxidante das amostras de própolis da região Nordeste foi menor que a das amostras das regiões Centro-Oeste, Sul e Sudeste, respectivamente.

Propolis is a resinous substance collected by bees from many parts of plants and mixed with wax, pollen and salivary secretions. Its composition is complex and closely related to the vegetation features of each region. Thirty-three propolis samples were collected from four Brazilian regions (Northeast, Southeast, South and Central-West) and had their antioxidant activity analyzed by the connected oxidation of b-carotene/linoleic acid. A significant variation was observed for the antioxidant activity (51.33-92.70%), according to the region where the sample was collected. The antioxidant activity of propolis samples collected in the Northeast region was lower than those collected in the Central-West, South and Southeast regions, respectively.

Stingless bees produce a honey that is different from the Apis honey in terms of composition. There aren't enough data to establish quality control parameters for this product, mainly due to lack of research results. The aim of this work is to evaluate some physicochemical parameters that can be used for the characterization and for the quality control of the Meliponinae honey. Four different samples were collected in the Amazon region of Brazil in 2004 (Melipona compressipes manaoense bee and Melipona seminigra merribae bee). Honey analyses were performed as described by the official methods. The mean results were: moisture (30.13%), pH (3.65), acidity (24.57 mEq/kg), water activity (0.75), fructose (31.91%), glucose (29.30%) and sucrose (0.19%). These results reinforce the need for a specific regulation for stingless bee honey. This will only be feasible when enough data is available to establish upper and lower limits for the physicochemical parameters used for quality control.

No Brasil, enterococos resistente à vancomicina (VRE) têm sido descritos como patógenos hospitalares, desde 1998. Durante um monitoramento de VRE em um hospital, foram detectadas duas cepas de Enterococcus faecalis com genótipo vanA, e sensibilidade à teicoplanina. Este é o primeiro relato do isolamento de enterococo fenótipo VanB e genótipo vanA de amostra clínica no Brasil.

In Brazil, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have been reported as nosocomial pathogens since 1998. Recently, in a VRE surveillance in a hospital, we detected two Enterococcus faecalis isolates with vanA genotype and susceptible to teicoplanin. This is the first report of VanB phenotype-vanA genotype enterococci isolated from humans in Brazil.