Bee Air (Bienenluft) Therapy Part of Apitherapy Trend in Europe

Good vibrations can leave you buzzing at first bee therapy retreat

Saturday May 20 2023, The Times

Pet therapy, cat cafés and emotional support animals have all sought to enhance the bond between humans and nature for those in need of a bit of unconditional love. As therapy crazes go, insects have yet to be embraced.

However, tranquillity seekers are now being offered an hour cocooned with 60,000 honey bees whose wing vibrations create “a positive energising effect which calms and relaxes”, according to a new treatment centre.

The bees come and go beneath a wooden triangular structure, known as an apipod, in which clients lie on beds, taking in the pollen aromas and sound of activity from the six hives without fear of being stung.

Guests can relax, or even fall asleep, surrounded by the aromas of honey, propolis, nectar and pollen

The practice, known as apitherapy, is a fast-growing trend in eastern Europe....

Video: Some Syrians are Turning to Bee Venom Therapy as Alternative Medicine

 

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Beebread, Bee-Collected Pollen and Artificially Fermented Pollen Show Significant Antiviral Activity Against Influenza A Virus

Antiviral Activity of Beebread, Bee-Collected Pollen and Artificially Fermented Pollen against Influenza A Virus

Foods 2023, 12(10), 1978

Bee-collected pollen (BCP) and the naturally fermented BCP product known as bee bread (BB) are functional foods renowned for their nutritious, antioxidant, antibacterial and other therapeutic properties. This is the first study employed to assess the antiviral activity of BCP and BB against influenza A virus (IAV) H1N1 along with their proteinaceous, aqueous and n-butanol fractions. Additionally, artificially fermented BCP has been evaluated against IAV (H1N1). Antiviral activity was assessed in vitro by comparative real-time PCR assay. IC50 values ranged from 0.022 to 10.04 mg/mL, and Selectivity Index (SI) values ranged from 1.06 to 338.64. Artificially fermented BCP samples AF5 and AF17 demonstrated higher SI values than unfermented BCP, and proteinaceous fractions demonstrated the highest SI values. The chemical profile of BCP and BB samples, analyzed using NMR and LC-MS, revealed the presence of specialized metabolites that may contribute toward the antiviral activity. 

Overall, the significant anti-IAV activity of BB and BCP harvested in Thessaly (Greece) could be attributed to chemical composition (especially undiscovered yet proteinaceous compounds) and possibly to microbiome metabolism. Further research regarding the antiviral properties of BCP and BB will elucidate the mode of action and could lead to new treatments against IAV or other viral diseases.

Honey and Propolis Ointment Accelerates Wound Healing

Amplification of Wound Healing by Propolis and Honey Ointment in Healthy and Diabetic Rat Models; Histopathological and Morphometric Findings

Arch Razi Inst. 2022 Oct 31;77(5):1673-1681

Skin wound healing, especially in diabetic patients, has been a major medical challenge for decades. In the meantime, the use of traditional medicine has always been questioned. Propolis) resin and wax (is one of the most likely solutions to this problem. The present study aimed to establish an animal model for healing skin wounds and diabetic ulcers. To this aim, rats were randomly allocated into two healthy and diabetic groups (50 mg/kg streptozotocin resulted in diabetes with high BSL to 300 mg/dL), which were divided into four subgroups. The 7 mm full-thickness skin wounds were created on the abdomen region in 80 male Wistar rats using paunch. In the subgroups, the wounds were cleaned with normal 0.9% saline as the control subgroup and dressed with Eucerit, 1.5% honey+eucerit, and 3% propolis +1.5% honey+eucerit, once daily for 14 days in other subgroups, respectively. On days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after the intervention, wound and area contractions were calculated using digital photographs measurement. The histopathological and semi-quantitative studies were performed on days 7 and 14 after wounds creation. The microscopic findings demonstrated that the granulation tissue, fibroblasts, re-epithelization, and angiogenesis increased (P≤0.05) in the subgroups treated by propolis and honey combination in healthy and diabetic rats within 7 and 14 days post-injury. Also, less inflammation and a significant reduction in wound contraction were observed in the same subgroups on days 3, 5, and 7 compared to other subgroups (P≤0.05). The results indicated that significant healing quality and acceleration were affected by propolis and honey compared to other subgroups on days 3 and 5 (P≤0.05).