The phenolic compounds from plants have a significant role in human diet as antioxidants. Their main sources are fruits, vegetables and beverages etc. However, by-products from food and agriculture also have valuable amounts of phenolic antioxidants. These phenolic compounds are effective in curing of many diseases including cancer, cardiovascular, contagious, viral and inflammatory diseases.

Current studies were performed to evaluate the medicinal importance of propolis and its origin and physiochemical composition depending upon the nature of vegetations present in various localities. The propolis contains a myriad of chemical compounds such as flavonoids, esters, phenolic acid, amino acids and terpenoids. Different analytical techniques (e.g., TLC, GC, HPLC, MS, NMR and GC-MS) are used for the characterization of various constituents of Propolis.