## 3 Results and Discussion
### Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities  
Honey is an important natural source of antioxidants and has potential therapeutic value in several inflammatory diseases and in the treatment of heart disease, cancer, and cataracts, in addition to its sweetening capacity and lower glycemic load [24]. The biological properties of honey comprise antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing activities [24].  
In this work, the antioxidant activity of the samples was evaluated by two different methods that measure distinct antioxidant properties (Table 2). The DPPH free radical scavenging assay is based on the capacity of the samples to scavenge free radicals, while the \(\beta\)-carotene bleaching test allows the indirect evaluation of the capacity of the samples to inhibit the lipid peroxidation [25].  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Samples**} & **Total Phenolic Compounds** & **Flavonoids** \\ \cline{2-3}  & **(g GAE/100 g Sample) 1** & **(g QE/100 g Sample) 1** \\ \hline H1 & \(0.107\pm 0.016\) & \(0.007\pm 0.001\) \\ H2 & \(0.046\pm 0.005\) & Not detected \\ H3 & \(0.029\pm 0.003\) & Not detected \\ PE1 & \(28.947\pm 1.329\) & \(5.494\pm 0.335\) \\ PE2 & \(21.747\pm 1.062\) & \(1.786\pm 0.029\) \\ PE3 & \(28.667\pm 0.774\) & \(4.280\pm 0.123\) \\ H1 PE1 0.3\% & \(2.394\pm 0.227\) & \(0.290\pm 0.007\) \\ H1 PE1 0.5\% & \(3.324\pm 0.044\) & \(0.452\pm 0.012\) \\ H1 PE2 0.3\% & \(1.219\pm 0.049\) & \(0.115\pm 0.005\) \\ H1 PE2 0.5\% & \(1.750\pm 0.076\) & \(0.199\pm 0.018\) \\ H1 PE3 0.3\% & \(1.969\pm 0.071\) & \(0.054\pm 0.011\) \\ H1 PE3 0.5\% & \(3.506\pm 0.257\) & \(0.308\pm 0.006\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} 1  
\end{table}
Table 1: Total phenolic compounds and flavonoids content of the samples.  
The honey that presented the highest antioxidant activity measured by the DPPH assay was Honey 1, opposed to Honey 3 that showed no relevant activity measured by this method. Propolis extracts revealed extremely high levels of antioxidant activity across all samples, with Propolis Extract 3 presenting the highest value. An increase in the antioxidant activity was observed in all samples with the addition of propolisis extract to honey, however adding a higher concentration of propolisis did not result in a considerable rise in activity in most cases.  
Concerning the results of \(\beta\)-carotene bleaching test, the honey that revealed the highest antioxidant activity was once again Honey 1. The antioxidant activity of this honey measured by both methods is related with the presence of great amounts of phenolic compounds, as previously mentioned. Propolis extracts revealed high levels of antioxidant activity measured by \(\beta\)-carotene bleaching test as it was also verified by DPPH assay.  
Analyzing the data obtained throughout the different assays it was possible to verify that dark-brown honey (H1) presented a higher content in phenolic compounds and flavonoids, followed by red honey (H2) and finally by light-yellow honey (H3). These results were consistent with the bioactive activity of the different samples. Since Honey 1 presented better phytochemical results, it was used in all the mixtures of honey with propolisis.  
The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using an in vitro assay that studied the ability of the samples to inhibit protein denaturation using a BSA solution (Table 2). It was noted that propolisis extracts reveal a higher anti-inflammatory activity than honeys. The honey that presented the highest activity was Honey 2, and among the Propolis Extracts, PE3 revealed the highest activity. Generally, an increase in the anti-inflammatory activity was observed in all samples when adding propolisis extract to honey. In a previous work involving Malaysian honeys, the authors concluded that the anti-inflammatory activity may be attributed, at least in part, to the phenolic compounds [24].