> "...enzymes are unlikely to have any activity
> in resins/exudates (and propolis) due to the 
> low water content and very high phenolic content."
> Bankova, Et al. (2018). 

This.  

A thousand times, this.

But Propolis tinctures, when properly made, are so dilute as to render the
actual content/origin of the Propolis pretty irrelevant anyway.   The
"homeopathic" folks who tend to be the precise target market for this
product don't mind this sort of thing at all, and everyone else does not buy
or use it.  The woo factor is very very high here, but one can still be an
honest supplier of an artisan-quality, locally-sourced, and unadulterated
product.  Even a placebo needs to be a quality product, made with care.

The recent "run" on high-proof alcohol for hand sanitizer both devastated
my cost structure and my "supply chain", so I put my old first small-scale
parabolic solar still for making Bee-Quick (now evacuated-tube, rather than
a dish) back into service to make the alcohol myself, re-distilling the
batches several times to get the higher proof that is required.  I certainly
was not going to use any of my precious "Wray and His Nephew" rum - that's
mine.  (If you can find one used, the circa 1970s Swedish/Danish "EasyStill"
and its many knock-offs is a good design for people who might not want to
mess around with solar collectors and steam-pressure pipes). 

But the corona virus situation means that both Propolis products and pollen
will sell at nearly any price you put on them, but only if sold through the
independently-owned health-food stores.

So, do the buyers understand that there is a risk of the bees collecting
roof tar, road tar, and even chunks of the "Flex Seal" product sold by the
annoying little man in the plate-glass boat?  Yes, and they WANT "local"
products, local down to the "my neighborhood" level.  Yes, I could try to
educate them more about bees, try to argue them into a more rational view of
the universe, but when they just want me to shut and take their money, I'm
gonna take their money, and buy some Wray and His Nephew" rum, which is good
for what ails ME.

Remember, the isopropyl alcohol is for what hurts on the outside, while the
ethyl alcohol is for what hurts on the inside.

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