Propolis Extract May Help Protect Skin from UVB Damage

Development of Topical Functionalized Formulations Added with Propolis Extract: Stability, Cutaneous Absorption and In Vivo Studies
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Article in Press

Abstract: Propolis, which is a natural product widely consumed in the folk medicine, is a serious candidate to be applied topically due to its outstanding antioxidant properties. So, the purpose of this study was to develop stable topical formulations added with propolis extract in an attempt to prevent and/or treat the diseases occurring in skin caused by UV radiation…

It was found in this study, that the formulations prepared with Polawax® showed functional and physical stability in the period of study. In addition, this formulation presented good results in the percutaneous study, allowing the antioxidant compounds present in the propolis extract to reach lower layers in pig ear skin and in the whole hairless mice skin (retention = 0.12 and 0.13 μL of propolis/g of skin, respectively).

In the in vivo study, it was also suggested that this formulation may be effective in protecting skin from UVB photodamage, nevertheless other assays need to be done in order to have a complete understanding of the protective effect of formulations added with propolis extract.

Health Benefits of Honey Boost Sales in UK

Shoppers Make a Bee-Line for Honey as Healthy Image Creates a Buzz
This is London (UK), 6/29/2007

Sales of honey are soaring thanks to its reputation as both a natural sweetener and remedy.

It has overtaken marmalade as the second-biggest seller in the sweet spread market Jam, the firm favourite, is sticking solidly in first place.

But those stocking up on honey aren't necessarily slathering it on their toast.

They are swallowing it by the spoonful for sore throats, drizzling it on their morning porridge for energy and stirring it into recipes and drinks.

Manuka honey, a New Zealand variety, is enjoying a renaissance of its own. It is said to have antibacterial properties that can be used to treat everything from skin conditions to digestive disorders.

There are also suggestions that eating certain types of honey can ease hayfever.

Traces of pollen in the honey can apparently help desensitise a sufferer to the allergens carried on the wind…

Medicinal Use of Propolis Growing in Uganda

Bees Make Wonder Drug
By Halima Shaban, New Vision (Uganda), 6/27/2007

BEES have given mankind unique products that scientists have failed to copy. Apart from honey and wax, bees also give something useful to health but human beings have ignored it. It is called propolis. Sometimes called bee glue, propolis is a sticky resin that seeps from the buds of some trees.

The project manager of Malaika Honey, Simon Turner, says bees gather propolis, carry it to their hives in their pollen baskets and blend it with wax flakes secreted from special glands on their abdomens to deposit it on the interior of their hives.

"Bees use propolis, which has antiseptic properties to neutralise any bacteria, fungi or virus that enters the hive," Turner says. "Propolis ensures a clean environment for the bees."

Turner, however, regrets that people simply destroy it when they harvest honey. Even those who do organised bee rearing, never harvest propolis mainly because of ignorance.

Turner started a project, Malaika Honey, to teach bee farmers the importance of all bee products. The project, found at Musajjalumbwa Road also harvests propolis and processes it into medicinal products.

Turner says propolis contains about 55% resinous compounds and balms, 30% beeswax, 10% aromatic essential oils and 5% bee pollen...

"Propolis is a medicinal product that can work as an antibiotic, soothe inflammations, speed up healing of wounds, ease rheumatic pains, combat fungal infections and strengthen the body's immune system," Turner says…

Malaika Honey has filed an application to the National Drug Authority (NDA) for permission to dispense propolis as a drug. A letter signed by the NDA executive secretary, Apollo Muhairwe, says propolis has been placed on the list of notified local herbal medicines…

Review: Venom Therapy in Multiple Sclerosis

Neuropharmacology, Article in Press

Abstract: To date many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) seek complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) to treat their symptoms as an adjunct to conventionally used therapies.

Among the common CAM therapies, there is a renewed interest in the therapeutic potential of venoms in MS. The efficacy of this therapeutic method remains unclear. However, venom-based therapy using bee, snakes and scorpions venom and/or sea anemones toxin has been recently developed because current investigations have identified the various components and molecular mechanism of the effects of venoms under in vitro and in vivo conditions.

The aim of this review is to describe the recent findings regarding the role of venoms and their components in treatment of MS disease and that whether venom therapy could be recommended as a complementary treatment or not.

Propolis Gaining Favor with Doctors

Alternative Remedies: Propolis
By Jessica Kiddle, The Scotsman (UK), 6/26/2007

PROPOLIS is the rather unattractive-sounding name for the rather unattractive-looking resin usually found oozing from young tree buds or conifer bark. However, once you realise that this waxy substance - which is used by bees to seal their hives - is said to be one of nature's most powerful cure-alls, you might look upon it in a more favourable light.

Egyptian priest-doctors used propolis in the mummification process and, in the modern land of the living, advocates of complementary medicine recommend sucking on a piece of propolis to ease a sore throat, among its other applications.

It is said that thanks to potent antiviral and antibiotic properties, it can do much more than soothe those tonsils, however. Not only is it believed to kill strains of bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotics, but thanks to its high content of antioxidant flavonoids, it is also though to bolster the immune system, strengthening the body's own defences.

The medical establishment is generally wary of claims regarding a plant's curative powers. But after a recent German study reported that propolis may be effective in treating neurofibromatosis - a little-known and unpredictable genetic condition causing non-cancerous tumours to grow around the body - it is even gaining favour with doctors...

UK Skin Balm Contains Honey, Royal Jelly, Bee Pollen

Tried & Tested: Egyptian Magic
By Wendy Cain, Coventry Evening Telegraph (UK), 6/25/2007

Price: pounds 25.50, http://www.hqhair.com/

COMES in a rather difficult to get at block form. It's in a large tub and the product is like a block of resin which you have to scratch at to get out.

Ingredients include honey, Royal Jelly and bee pollen and it claims you can use it on just about anything - rashes, burns, scar tissue, stretch marks, insect bites - so is ideal for your first aid kit.

Worked like magic on my elbows overnight.

Verdict: Looks very strange, but very effective.

Malaysian University to Study Effect of ‘Tualang’ Honey on Immune System

FAMA, USM Sign MoU for Research on Tualang Honey
Bernama (Malysian National News Agency), 6/24/2007

KOTA BAHARU, June 24 (Bernama) -- The Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) signed a memorandum of understanding to undertake research on "tualang" honey. Tualang honey gets its name from the tualang tree…

FAMA Deputy Director-General Samah Hasan said the authority had successfully produced tualang honey but there was no scientific proof saying it was of the highest quality…

Samah said the cooperation with USM would focus on the effectiveness of tualang honey in strengthening human immune system.

Royal Jelly Component Involved in Synthesis of Molecule that Stimulates Immune Response

Evidence for New β1-3 Galactosyltransferase Activity Involved in Biosynthesis of Unusual N-Glycan Harboring T-Antigen in Apis Mellifera
Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, Vol. 71 (2007) , No. 4 pp.1111-1114

In a previous study (Y. Kimura et al., Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem., 70, 2583–2587, 2006), we found that new complex type N-glycans harboring Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (Galβ1-3GalNAc) unit occur on royal jelly glycoproteins, suggesting the involvement of a new β1-3galactosyltransferase in the synthesis of the unusual complex type N-glycans. So far, such β1-3galactosyltransferase activity, which can transfer galactosyl residues with the β1-3 linkage to β1-4 GalNAc residues in N-glycan, has not been found among any eucaryotic cells. But using GalNAc2GlcNAc2Man3GlcNAc2-PA as acceptor N-glycan, we detected the β1-3 galactosyltransferase activity in membrane fraction prepared from honeybee cephalic portions. This result indicates that honeybee expresses a unique β1-3 galactosyltransferase involved in biosynthesis of the unusual N-glycan containing a tumor related antigen in the hypopharyngeal gland.

Book Review - Health and the Honeybee by Charles Mraz

Health Status, 6/21/2007

I became interested in apitherapy (the use of bee products for healing and health) when doing some online research about allergies. That led me to this book.

This is an autobiography of Charles Mraz who has been a leader in bee venom therapy (BVT) in America since 1934. In this book Charles Mraz walks you through how he became a bee keeper in Vermont and began experimenting with bee stings to help people with arthritis...

He seems a very humble man frustrated with the lack of the pharmaceutical world to pursue what seems to be a no-brainer. Bee venom can heal. This is a quick little book to read. It may have been written for other apitherapist to learn from, but I found a curious person like me enjoyed the read very well. If you have interest in alternative therapies you may want to give this book a try.

Honey Inhibits Bacterial Growth in Milk

Honey as a Natural Preservative of Milk
Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol. 45, May 2007, pp. 459-464

The anti-bacterial property and preservative nature of honey has been studied by evaluating the role of hydrogen peroxide in these properties, against bacterial strains isolated and identified from pasteurized milk samples. The anti-bacterial property of honey examined by agar incorporation assay and turbidometry, indicated a concentration dependent inhibition of bacterial growth in all catalase negative strains in comparison with catalase positive strains, highlighting a probable role of hydrogen peroxide. Samples of commercial milk stored at 4°C in presence of honey were shown to inhibit opportunistic bacterial growth better compared to samples stored without honey. Due to the bactericidal property of hydrogen peroxide and its preservative nature, honey which is chiefly a combination of various sugars and hydrogen peroxide, can be used a preservative of milk samples.

Bee Venom Has ‘Therapeutic Potential for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases’

Bee Venom and Melittin Reduce Proinflammatory Mediators in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated BV2 Microglia
International Immunopharmacology, Volume 7, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 1092-1101

Abstract: Bee venom (BV), well known as a traditional Oriental medicine, has been shown to exhibit anti-arthritic and anti-carcinogenic effects. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of BV have not been elucidated in microglia.

In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of BV and its major component, melittin (MEL), on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglia. Our results indicate that BV and MEL suppress LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression in a dose-dependent manner, without causing cytotoxicity in BV2 microglia. Moreover, BV and MEL suppressed LPS-induced activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) by blocking degradation of IκBα and phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and Akt, which resulted in inhibition of iNOS expression.

Our data also indicate that BV and MEL exert anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing the transcription of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 genes and proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. BV and MEL also attenuated the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). These results demonstrate that BV and MEL possess a potent suppressive effect on proinflammatory responses of BV2 microglia and suggest that these compounds may offer substantial therapeutic potential for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases that are accompanied by microglial activation.

Propolis Component May Help Prevent Dangerous Blood Clots

Characterization of a Novel and Potent Collagen Antagonist, Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester, in Human Platelets: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies
Cardiovascular Research, 10 May 2007

Objective: Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), which is derived from the propolis of honeybee hives, has been demonstrated to possess multiple pharmacological activities. In the present study, CAPE (6–25 μM) specifically inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation and the ATP release reaction in platelet suspensions.

Methods: Platelet aggregation, flow cytometric analysis, immunoblotting, and electron spin resonance (ESR) were used to assess the anti-platelet activity of CAPE. Fluorescein sodium-induced platelet thrombi in mesenteric microvessels of mice were used for an in vivo study.

Results: CAPE (15–100 μM) produced a concentration-related rightward displacement of the collagen concentration–response curve, and the Schild plot gave pA2 and pA10 values of 4.28 ± 0.07 and 3.14 ± 0.73, respectively, with a slope of − 0.83 ± 0.16, indicating specific antagonism. CAPE (25 μM) also inhibited platelet aggregation stimulated by the glycoprotein VI agonist, convulxin, and the α2β1 integrin agonist, aggretin. CAPE (25 μM) also markedly interfered with FITC-collagen binding to platelet membranes. CAPE (15 and 25 μM) concentration-dependently inhibited collagen-induced platelet activation accompanied by [Ca+2]i mobilization, phosphoinositide breakdown, activation of protein kinase C and mitogen-activated protein kinases (i.e., ERK2, JNK, and p38 MAPK), Akt phosphorylation, and thromboxane A2 formation. In the ESR study, CAPE (15 and 25 μM) markedly reduced hydroxyl radical (OH) formation in collagen-activated platelets. In an in vivo study, CAPE (5 mg/kg) significantly prolonged the latency in inducing platelet plug formation in mesenteric venules of mice.

Conclusions: The most important findings of this study suggest that CAPE specifically inhibits collagen-induced platelet activation. Thus, CAPE treatment may represent a novel approach to lowering the risk of or improving function in thromboembolism-related disorders.

Patients Flock to Indonesian Bee Venom Therapy Center

Muntowib: Bees and Lessons for Humans
P.J. Leo, The Jakarta Post (Indonesia), 6/20/2007

Visitors are warmly greeted at the clinic in the Scout Apiary Center in Cibubur, East Jakarta, where Muntowib, 45, offers bee-sting therapy, also known as cultivar api-puncture.

Before treating patients, Muntowib asks details of their complaints and diseases, if any, they have suffered. He then promptly picks up a cultivated bee with a pair of tweezers and makes it sting nerve points on the body of his patients.

"Bees are harmless until we disturb them," Muntowib said while treating patients, who come from all over the country.

"Most of them have given up on medical treatments and are tired of taking drugs without any recovery prospect," said Muntowib, who dropped out of Sunan Ampel Islamic Institute in Kediri, East Java.

Yongki, a stroke patient with a paralyzed arm and leg, has enjoyed improved muscle movement after regular bee stings at the Cibubur apiary. Previously he dragged his foot when walking. Now he can walk normally and move his hand.

Cultivar api-puncture, a healing method dating back to ancient civilizations, is one of the many alternative treatments mushrooming in the country. And therapists like Muntowib believe that disease caused by nervous disorders or blood vessel clogging can be cured with bee venom, called apitoxin, which stimulates the heart and produces a "warmth" through the cardiovascular system.

While the healing power of apitoxin is yet to be proven scientifically, response to the bee-sting clinic in Cibubur has been overwhelming and the apiary center appointed Wardoyo as Muntowib's assistant in 2004…

Api-puncture, according to Muntowib, was already widespread in China 2,000 years ago. "It applies the methods of acupuncture. But while metal needles are used in acupuncture, bee stings replace needles in api-puncture."

The points of the bee stings on the body are the same as in acupuncture, where illnesses can be healed. In api-puncture, ailments of the nerves and blood vessels are treated with the venom of worker bees, which in the Cibubur apiary belong to the honeybee colony of Apis Mellifera, a species from Australia.

"Three species are raised here in Cibubur, which are Apis Mellifera, Apis Screna and Apis Dorsata. In the scout apiary center, the bees are raised for api-puncture as well as for their honey."…

Ugandan Women Urged to Produce Propolis, Pollen, Royal Jelly

Women Make Candles Using Simple Technology
By John Kasozi, New Vision (Ugandan), 6/19/2007

CHRISTENE Nalubega looked attentively at her facilitator splitting the paw-paw stem mold after making a candle. "I just can't believe it," she said marvelling at Alice Kangave, the National Honey expert.

Recently, over 60 women members of Masaka Organic Farmers Association were passed out after completing a three-day bee-keeping workshop at St. Jude Rural Organic Training Centre in Masaka.

The capacity building workshop was conducted by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, the Uganda Integrated Programme and The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation.

Participants were trained in making candles from bee wax using paw paw and bamboo stems. The stems acted as molds…

She urged farmers not to only look at the production of honey, propolis, medicine, pollen and royal jelly, but also wax. ..

New Spanish Apitherapy Book to be Released in July

Apiterapia 101 Para Todos
By Moises Asis

Pre-Order at Amazon.com.

Comprehensive and state-of-the art textbook on Apitherapy, the use of bee products, i.e. honey and honeydew, bee pollen and bee bread, drone larvae or Apilarnil, propolis, royal jelly, apitoxin or bee venom, beeswax, as a food supplement or as a Complementary and Alternative Medicine in applications such as nutrient supplements, massage, stipers, injections, stings, acupuncture microapplications, capsules, tables, raw oral, electrophoresis, and many others, for preventing diseases and healing autoimmune diseases, cancer, addictions, ulcers, malaria, herpes zoster, burn care, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, wound care, Parkinson's disease, Lyme's disease, parasites, dermatological diseases, and other neurological disorders, psychiatric disorders, surgery, metabolic diseases, infectious diseases, fungal diseases, viral diseases, bacterial diseases, cosmetics, and other uses.

About the Author:

Dr. Moises Asis is the International Coordinator for "Bees for Life - World Apitherapy Network" (http://www.beesforlife.org/) based in Miami, United States, and has published other five books on Apitherapy since 1979. He has university degrees in Social Work, Law, Information Science, Experimental Hypnosis and Alternative Medicine. His contact emails are Apitherapy101@gmail.com and MoisesAsis@comcast.net

A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to for "Bees for Life - World Apitherapy Network."