A new look at an age-old remedy: propolis
As the concern around public health is growing, so is the demand for natural multifunctional ingredients – those that will combine antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions in food for humans and animals. Time to revisit honey bee products.
An old recipe
It is no wonder that honey bee products such as honey, propolis, royal jelly and bee pollen, are regaining their popularity. In Europe, humans and western honey bees have been living side by side since ancient times. Since then, we have perfected ways of utilising their products as food, cosmetics and therapeutics.
Honey
Honey is the end product of nectar digestion, a supersaturated aqueous solution made of 80% sugars (mostly fructose and glucose) and stored in honeycomb cells. Honey is used as food but also as a medical device for wound management. Natural unheated honey has broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, and honey itself has been reported to have great wound healing properties.
Propolis
The same goes for propolis, a resinous mixture collected by bees and used as the construction material for beehives, but also for their collective immunity. It has more than 300 bioactive compounds, mostly from terpenes, terpenoids, waxes and phenolics. In Europe these are mainly of poplar tree origin, so the European propolis is of poplar type. Of all the products from the beehive, propolis is the most potent antimicrobial and antioxidant and thus has beneficial effects when used in digestive disorders, skin and teeth problems, and even allergies.
Royal jelly
Royal jelly is a white-yellow, colloidal, slightly acidic secretion from the salivary glands of young nurse bees. Royal jelly is food for all bee larvae for the first three days of their life and for the queen bee throughout her lifespan. It consists mainly of water (60% to 70%), carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and the remaining 0.8–3% are vitamins, minerals, and phenolics. Numerous studies have confirmed the beneficial effect of royal jelly on reproductive health, neurodegenerative disorders, wound healing, and aging.
Bee pollen
Bee pollen consists of proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids and fatty acids, phenolics, enzymes, coenzymes, vitamins and minerals. Honey bees use it to prepare the bee bread, the main protein source for the colony, and as the nutritional and mineral source for royal jelly. There are approximately 200 substances from different plant species found in pollen grains, flavonoids, phenolics, and enzymes, contributing to its antioxidant activity.
New methods for old ways
Certainly, honey bee products have health promoting effects, but their preparation and standardisation methods require knowledge and experience, as their content varies with botanical and geographical origin. Luckily, in parts of Europe, beekeeping is traditional and so is the use and preparation of honey bee products. When combined with modern technologies, these traditional extraction methods become scalable and sustainable, and the implementation of honey bee products as functional ingredients in pet food and cosmetics becomes not just realistic, but also smart and innovative.