Bees are one of the most versatile insects in the world. Known for their societal model, they provide rich natural foods to humans and contribute to the process of pollination of plants. This text will display one of their products, the propolis, which is no longer discarded by beekeepers and started to integrate the context of other apian products. Propolis has also been gaining interest from society in general as well as the scientific community.

Keywords
bees, ecology, environment, propolis, biological properties, physicochemical properties, methods of analysis, thin-layer chromatography

Authors
Maria Cristina Marcucci
NaturaLab – Análises e pesquisas aplicadas em produtos naturais e meio ambiente
Ângela Ramalho Custodio
NaturaLab – Análises e pesquisas aplicadas em produtos naturais e meio ambiente

Translated by
João C. de Andrade

Revised by
Carol H. Collins

This text is intended to convey to readers the sophistication of the chemistry involved in the interaction between the organisms of an ecosystem. Although humans like to attribute to themselves the exclusive use of chemistry, the examples that will be discussed in this section clearly indicate that this concept is far from reality.

Keywords
ecology, trophic interactions, non-trophic interactions, hormones, pheromones, metabolites

Authors
José Roberto Trigo
Volker Bittrich
Maria do Carmo Amaral
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia
Anita J. Marsaioli
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Química

Translated by
João C. de Andrade

Revised by
Carol H. Collins