Health Benefits of Propolis Outlined

Bee Propolis is a ‘Bee-u-tiful’ Supplement
By Jody Godfrey, Joplin Globe (USA), 11/1/2007

Propolis, often called “bee glue” isn’t the same as beeswax, although I thought it was.

Beeswax is secreted by bees, whereas propolis is collected by bees from trees. It’s a mixture of various resins made from plants, flowers, leaf buds and tree barks. Bees carry the propolis on their backs to strengthen and seal cracks in their hives.

Bee glue is a godsend. What bees have to do is collect the same substance that trees use to protect themselves from infection. Certain trees (poplar, willow, birch and horse chestnut) create a special antibiotic sap to guard against invaders. Bees gather these saps, take them back to their hives and coat the hives with it in much the same manner as we use to paint and caulk our home…

One of the many cool things about propolis is that it has been found to stimulate our immune system, as discovered by Professor S. Scheller of the Institute for Microbiology at the Medical Academy of Poland.
Scheller and his four-member research team learned that propolis releases substances that guard against cellular deterioration, and it stimulates antibody production, thereby resisting many diseases…

F. M. Ali, an Egyptian doctor at Ain Shams University, showed that propolis appears to be effective in treating infertility caused by endometriosis. In this small, randomized trial, the doctor found the bee propolis a viable treatment…

Caffeic acids in propolis might be effective against colon cancer as stated in Cancer Research.

The article described how the acids were able to prevent the formation of pre-cancerous tissues in rats after injections of acute cancer-causing agents. Another study done in 1990 showed propolis chemicals to act against ovarian cancer in hamsters and sarcoma-type tumors in mice.

Dr. Ralph Golan reported in 2001 how ulcerative colitis, as well as Crohn’s Disease, responded to propolis therapy in Townsend Letters for Doctors.

Other propolis pluses would include the realm of dental care. Propolis mouthwash used after dental surgery appears to shorten healing time. A study in the ’90s showed that rats given propolis in their drinking water greatly reduced cavities while yet an earlier study showed propolis to be a valuable ancillary treatment for gum disease and plaque reduction. It is also used in dental surgery as a safe and natural disinfectant.

E. L. Ghisalberti, an Australian scientist with the Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Western Australia, showed that propolis increases the effectiveness of antibiotics (sulfa drugs) from 10- to 100-fold, which means the dosages can be trimmed, lowering the dependency on antibiotics and decreasing problems that occur from overexposure.

Additional studies over the years have yielded results such as lowering blood pressure, having a sedative-like effect and protecting liver and stomachs of certain animals…

(Photo: Beehive Botanicals)