Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Extraction and Analysis of Taiwanese Green Propolis
Published on: January 7, 2019
Use of propolis in the sanitization of lettuce
Xesús Feás1, Lazaro Pacheco2, Antonio Iglesias3
1Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, E-27080 Lugo, Spain. xesus.feas@usc.es.
Abstract:
The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of propolis in reducing the microbial load in ready-to-eat (RTE) and fresh whole head (FWH) lettuces (Lactuca sativa L.) type Batavia. Two sanitizing solutions were employed: sodium hypochlorite (SH) and propolis (PS), during 15 and 30 min. Tap water (TW) was used as a control. Regarding the mean reduction on aerobic mesophiles, psychrotrophic and fecal coliforms, the SH and PS treatments showed the same pattern of variation. In all cases, PS was slightly more effective in the microbiological reduction in comparison with commercial SH. Reductions between two and three log cycles were obtained with PS on aerobic mesophiles and psychrotrophic counts. The information obtained in the present study can be used to evaluate the potential use of propolis as product for sanitizing other vegetables and for developing other food preservation technologies, with impact on human health.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Hand hygiene
Hand washing...
Chemical Agents for Microbial Control
Microbes in the Production of Fermented Foods
Cleaning, Sterilization, and Disinfection
Cleaning
The cleaning process usually involves using water with detergents or enzymatic cleaner and removing foreign material from objects and surfaces, including organic material such as body fluids or inorganic material like soil. Cleaning is performed before high-level disinfection and sterilization because foreign materials on the cover of the devices interfere with process...
Biological Methods for Microbial Control

