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The chemicals in propolis

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:13:19 +0000

The main component of propolis are resins. The flavonoids and phenolic acids rich resins make around 40 % to 50 % of propolis.

Because propolis comes from variety of plants, availability of the plants sap and the type of bees, no two propolis are alike. They would be different in term of colors, odors and compositions.

Chemical Ingredients

Chemically, propolis is exceedingly complex. Apart from flavonoids, propolis is also rich in caffeic acid phenethyl ester. This is a substance that has been proven to inhibit cancer growth and reduce inflammation in animal studies.

Bee propolis also contains organic acids, their derivatives as well as terpenoids. These constituents contribute to it’s antibiotic, anti fungal and antiviral effects.

Apart from that you will also find :-

kaempferol
apigenin
pinocembrin
galangin
luteolin
pinostrobin, and
quercitin

All of which are anti-inflammatory, antiallergenic, antioxidant and/or antimutagenic.

Chemically complex

Scientifically, studies done on propolis had found that it actually contains more than 150 chemical components. Some researchers even found as much as 300 components in their sample propolis.

About Propolis Antibacterial and Antiviral Effects

There is an interesting difference between propolis’s antibacterial property compared to an antibiotics.

Antibiotics works by killing bacteria in our body. That includes “friendly” ones needed by the body. Among the good bacteria killed by antibiotics are ones responsible in helping the body produce vitamins like B and K. The more antibiotics you use, the more “friendly” bacteria will you kill.

On the other hand, propolis raises your body’s natural resistance by stimulating your own immune system. It also adds vitamins like B1, B, C, E and essential minerals including iron, aluminum, manganese and silicon to the body.

How to store your propolis

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:45:28 +0000

Where and How

If you have propolis in liquid form, we suggest that you put it away in an airtight container. After you have done that, make sure you put it somewhere safe and away from any excessive heat.

That means far from your fridge or kitchen. It is preferred that your propolis be kept in a dark place.

Don’t mix them

Your old propolis solution should not be mixed with the new one. If you follow this advise your propolis solution will lasts longer.

Ever after storing it for a year, your propolis should still be as good as new.

How Long Will It Lasts?

Like any other bee products, propolis is not easily ruined. But because most propolis products contain other ingredients, the life of your product will differ from one brand to another.

One propolis cream from brand A may lasts longer than brand B, if brand B has more easily ruined ingredients.

Modern history

Modern history

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:30:40 +0000

When synthetic drugs were introduced and antibiotics was gaining popularity, the use of natural products like propolis plummeted.

It was only in China and Eastern Europe ( countries like Russia, Poland, Bulgaria and old Yugoslavia) that medical research were conducted on bee propolis.

Propolis brought to the West

The medical community in the West only took notice in the 1960s and 1970s after the works of Dr. Aagard Lund in Denmark and Dr. Remy Chauvin in France was published – outlining the benefits of propolis to health.

Starting from that, like any other useful natural plant or substance, scientists have been working hard to extract that special ingredients in propolis that is beneficial for our health.

But it appears that you need to take whole propolis to get it’s health benefits. The combined and synergistic effects of propolis are proved to be better than any single ingredients extracted from it.

Non-toxic

These scientific research have also concluded that propolis not toxic. In simple words this means it is safe for you to take propolis.

However, it has a few side effects, mainly affecting those who are already allergic to bees or bee products.

As folk medicine

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:23:32 +0000

Propolis was first used as folk medicine during the days of Aristotle ( which is around 350 BC). Others believe it was first used by Egyptian priest doctors who used it as medicine after successfully using it for mummification.

Later on, propolis were also mentioned in Arabs, Greeks and Roman medical treatises during the late 19th century. Equivalent to today’s medical journals, these treatises talk about using propolis for treating infection, skin diseases, respiratory and joint problems. The Greeks were known to use it for abscesses while the Assyrians used it to heal wounds and possibly tumors.

In Europe and North Africa, propolis have been reported as a form of treatment for wound, caries and all forms of mouth or throat infections.

How do you extract propolis ?

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:13:53 +0000

To extract propolis, you need ethanol ( ethyl alcohol), ether, glycol and water.

Collecting propolis is an arduous task. Yes, you can scrap propolis from a hive. However, you would get an inferior propolis since you will also get other unwanted bee products during the process.

Tricking the Bees

The best way to get pure propolis is by tricking the bees. What breeders normally do is by inserting small insets into the hives.

Bees will fill the insets with propolis because they are tricked into thinking that the inset is a part of their home that needs repair.

Link: Making your own propolis tincture

What does propolis look like ?

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:59:00 +0000

Picture Credit: Epukas

Dark brown propolis rolled into balls.

The Color

Propolis has many colors. The color depends on the source of propolis and the season of the year. It ranges from yellow to dark brown, depending on the origin of the resins.

In fact, transparent colored propolis has also been reported. So don’t be surprised at two propolis that look very different.

The Characteristic

In warm weather, propolis is sticky and soft. But in cool weather it hardens and becomes brittle.

If you store your propolis at lower than 15 C or at a nearly freezing temperature, it will remain brittle, even after you heat it afterward.

At normal room temperature ( 25 – 45 C), propolis is a soft, sticky and pliable substance. As the temperature gets warmer (above 45 C), it will be more like a glue – gummy and increasingly sticky. And at less than 15 C or near freezing temperature, propolis will harden and becomes brittle.

To change propolis from from solid to liquid, you need to heat your propolis at around 60 to 70 C. Some propolis, however, will only melt at 100 C.

What is propolis ?

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:20:10 +0000

Picture Credit Martin

A populous colony may contain 40,000 to 60,000 bees during the late spring or early summer. Propolis keeps the hive strong and sterile.

In simple words, propolis is bees’ own medicine.

What is it made of ?

It is made of various resins collected by the honeybees from plants – particularly from flowers, leaf buds and the bark of trees.

Other names

The usually brown substance is also called bee glue. But note, it is not the same as bees wax.

Beeswax is secreted by bees while the chemically complex propolis is collected by bees from trees.

What is it used for ?

Bees use the versatile resin for :-

Sealing cracks and as natural cement to hold their home.
Keeping themselves and their hives bacteria-free, and
Coating invaders.

Sealing and strengthening hives

As propolis is sticky in warm weather, bees use it as a form of glue to seal cracks or hold the hive structure together.

Some African tribes are also using propolis in the similar way – to water-proof their water containers and seal cracks in their boats.

Keeping the colony bacteria-free

Living in a hive is like living in a super-busy apartment building, and sharing it with other 50,000 living beings. It’s like making a crowded Tokyo subway your home.

But because propolis is used as the cement of the congested space, as bees squeeze themselves into or out of the hive, they will brush their body against the wall, and the propolis.

This contact with propolis helps reduce bacterial and viral infection from spreading in their congested home. Without some kind of natural antibiotics protection, the whole colony would be dead.

Scientist studying bees have agreed that the hive is as clean and sterile as most of our modern laboratories.

Coating Intruders

If a rodent like a rat enters the hive, bees will sting it to death and coat the carcass with propolis.

Because it cannot carry the carcass away from its’ hive, bees need a way to sterile the dead body. By embalming the body with an antiseptic shell, the carcass will not rot and spread an epidemic in the congested space.

As it’s already used as the coating and cement for the hive, the anti microbial and antiviral propolis is the fastest and most effective substance for the job.