Comparative development and antimicrobial evaluation of propolis-based topical creams using oil and ethanol extracts

Propolis is a sticky substance collected by bees from plants and used in the hive as a building material and defensive substance. Propolis is a natural substance with relatively well-documented antimicrobial and bioactive properties that are still being discussed in scientific circles and widely used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations (Silva-
Carvalho et al., 2015; Martinotti et al., 2025). This especially applies to formulations in which the activity, but also the stability, can be most appropriately assessed.
In our study, propolis originating from the Lesnovo region in northeastern Macedonia was used as the active substance for the development of a cream formulation for topical use.
The aim was to prepare and evaluate propolis extract topical formulation obtained using different extraction solvents and excipient compositions, in order to assess their microbiological properties.
The final formulations were evaluated for pH (using dispersion in ultrapure water and pH meter analysis), microbiological quality (plate count agar and Sabouraud dextrose agar incubation), spreadability (parallel-plate method under different loads), and antimicrobial activity
against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Candida albicans by measuring inhibition zones over 21 days (Ramanauskiene et al.,2021).