APIMEDICA Presentation: Products of the Beehive: A True Pharmacological Arsenal in the Primary Rural Attention of Health

APIMEDICA 2006, October 12-16, 2006, Athens, Greece
Presenter: Liena Hernández

Summary Points:

* Advantages of Use the Apitherapy in the Rural Community:

1. Use of the resources characteristic of the rural community
2. To have natural, cheap and effective resources for medical care
3. To avoid complications with the early treatment of illnesses
4. To aid conservation of the different species of honey plants of the region

* Survey of the Therapeutic Value of Three Apitherapy Formulations in Primary Rural Health

Methods and Materials:

1. Population of community "Las Terrazas" (927 habitants in the mountainous region of Pinar del Río, Cuba)
2. Duration of the study: One year
3. Cycles of treatments: 7, 14 or 21 days4. Studied formulations: Broncho-Pulmonary Arohoney, General Arohoney, Propohoney

* Composition of Formulations:

Broncho-Pulmonary Arohoney (hay fever, pharyngitis, rhinopharyngitis, common cold + bacterial infection, acute bronchitis, chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, otitis, crisis of bronchial asthma)

In 15 grams of the product:

Eucalyptus radiata (0.4 grams)
Eucalyptus globulus (0.2 grams)
Rosmarin 1.8 to cineol (0.2 grams)
Ravensara aromatic (0.2 grams)
Honey (14 grams)

General Arohoney (gingivitis, vaginal infections, chronic vulvo vaginitis, urinary infections, lynphangitis)

In 15 grams of the product:

Melaleuca alternifolia (0.4 grams)
Ravensara aromatica (0.2 grams)
Thymus vulagris (0.2 grams)
Ocimum basilicum basilicum (0.2 grams)
Honey (14 grams)

Propohoney (Injuries, Burns)

Soft extract of propolis (0.5 grams)
Honey (100 grams)

* Administration:

The arohoneys were administered for by mouth, swallowing slowly to guarantee the absorption of the product through the sublingual vascularisation.

Propohoney was applied to the injury or burn once a day and covered with sterile gauze during the first week.

* Contraindications:

1. Avoid treatment of children younger than three years and in patients that present an allergy to the propolis or one of the essential oils mentioned in the compositions.

2. Avoid the contact of the products with the eyes.

3. Interrupt treatment immediately if there is an allergic reaction.

* Conclusions:

1. In the 21 pathologies treated, more than 70 percent of patients saw an improvement in the first 14 days of treatment.

2. An average of 87.8 percent of cases were healed, 4.8 percent improved, and only 4 percent saw no improvement.

3. Nauseas was the only unexpected adverse reaction in direct relationship to the arohoney treatment. It was present in 35 percent of the cases.

4. The proposed treatments are safe and they represent an effective alternative for those communities where the access to the conventional medications is poor.