Propolis Extract Improves Fish Growth, Immunity

Antagonism of Aeromonas hydrophila by Propolis and Its Effect on the Performance of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis Niloticus
Fish Shellfish Immunol, 2009 Jun 26

Propolis, a resinous substance collected by Apis mellifera bees from various plant sources and mixed with secreted beeswax, is a multifunctional material used by bees in the construction, maintenance, and protection of their hives.

The collected propolis sample, from High Egypt, was dark-green with olive-odor. The minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) of propolis-ethanolic-extract, against Aeromonas hydrophila, was 80 mug. of Propolis-ethanolic-extract and crude propolis (1%) were added to artificial basal diet with (30% crude protein) to evaluate their efficacy on the fish growth-performance, immunostimulation and resistance to A. hydrophila.

Two hundred and twenty-five Oreochromis niloticus (8+/-0.45g/fish) were divided into three equal treatments (T) of triplet replicates. The fish of T(1) were fed on basal diet (control). The fish of T(2) were given the basal diet, containing propolis-ethanolic-extract. The fish of T(3) were given the basal diet containing crude propolis for 28 day.

The fish were intraperitoneally challenged by A. hydrophila (0.2x10(7) cells ml(-1)) at the end of the feeding period and kept for 15 more days.

The best growth rate and feed conversion ratio were obtained with T(2.) The increase in the average daily gain, specific growth rate and feed efficiency ratio were highly significances in T(2) followed by T(3) when compared with the control group. The HCT-level and monocyte-counts were increased (T(2)). No significant change, in the large lymphocytic-count was found among the three treatments (28-27-28%), while the neutrophil-count was significantly decreased (7%) with T(2) and increased (13.11%) with the control. A significant increase in serum lysozyme and serum bactericidal activities was found with T(2). The RLP against A. hydrophila was high with T(2) and T(3).

The propolis-ethanolic-extract enhanced the growth, immunity and resistance of O. niloticus against A. hydrophila more than the crude propolis.

Honey Can Replace Antibiotic Creams on Wounds, Catheters

Study: Honey Can Kill Superbugs
By Mark Tutton, 7/1/2009

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Honey has been used to treat wounds since ancient times, but recent years have seen a surge of medical interest in the sticky stuff.

Manuka honey has been the subject of particular interest, with the results of a study just published by Sydney University finding that it has powerful antibacterial properties, and is even effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Associate Professor Dee Carter, from Sydney University's School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences said: "Our research is the first to clearly show that these honey-based products could in many cases replace antibiotic creams on wounds and equipment such as catheters. Using honey as an intermediate treatment could also prolong the life of antibiotics."

"Most bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one antibiotic, and there is an urgent need for new ways to treat and control surface infections."

She added: "We don't quite know how these honeys prevent and kill infections, but a compound in them called methylglyoxal seems to interact with a number of other unknown compounds in honey to prevent infectious bacteria developing new strains that are resistant to it."…

Now, an Australian company is claiming to have produced the world's most potent medical-grade antibacterial honey, made by bees pollinating the Australian jellybush, also a member of the Leptospermum family.

Australia's Medi Bioactive Honey Company claims its Berringa antibacterial honey has twice the antibacterial content of normal manuka honey, and has launched the product in the UK…

Honey May Help Treat Sinus Inflammation

Effectiveness of Honey on Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, 2009 Jul;141(1):114-8

Objectives: Biofilms formed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) and Staphylococcus aureus (SA) have been shown to be an important factor in the pathophysiology of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). As well, honey has been used as an effective topical antimicrobial agent for years. Our objective is to determine the in vitro effect of honey against biofilms produced by PA and SA.

Study Design: In vitro testing of honey against bacterial biofilms.

Methods: We used a previously established biofilm model to assess antibacterial activity of honey against 11 methicillin-susceptible SA (MSSA), 11 methicillin-resistant SA (MRSA), and 11 PA isolates. Honeys were tested against both planktonic and biofilm-grown bacteria.

Results: Honey was effective in killing 100 percent of the isolates in the planktonic form. The bactericidal rates for the Sidr and Manuka honeys against MSSA, MRSA, and PA biofilms were 63-82 percent, 73-63 percent, and 91-91 percent, respectively. These rates were significantly higher than those seen with single antibiotics commonly used against SA.

Conclusion: Honey, which is a natural, nontoxic, and inexpensive product, is effective in killing SA and PA bacterial biofilms. This intriguing observation may have important clinical implications and could lead to a new approach for treating refractory CRS.

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Video: Propolis Used to Fight Cancer

3 News (New Zealand), 7/1/2009

A sticky resin made by New Zealand bees could be used to fight cancer, according to a visiting researcher.

Bee Product Potentially ‘Bigger than Manuka Honey’

By Niko Kloeten, The National Business Review (New Zealand), 7/1/2009

A bee health product with cancer-fighting properties could become an even bigger export earner than Manuka honey, according to the professor who uncovered its benefits.

Melbourne-based professor Hiroshi Maruta led international research that found Bio 30 bee propolis from New Zealand suppresses neurofibromatosis, a condition that affects the skin and nervous system of one in 3000 people.

Dr Maruta is a visiting professor at Hamburg University Hospital, the University of Maryland in Baltimore, and La Trobe University in Melbourne.

He has specialised in research into the anti-cancer properties of propolis, a sticky brown substance made by bees from resins gathered from tree buds and cuts.

His initial research found the Bio 30 propolis supplied by Te Awamutu company Manuka Health suppressed the growth of Type 1 neurofibromatosis tumours in mice by over 90 per cent. Tumour shrinkage was visible after 6 to 12 months treatment.

Since then, an on-going trial in several countries involving neurofibromatosis type 1, melanoma and pancreatic cancer sufferers has found most showing no further growth in their tumours…

Did Bee Venom Therapy Cause Benign Skin Tumor?

Giant Dermatofibroma with Granular Cell Changes: Side-Effect of Bee-Venom Acupuncture?
Clin Exp Dermatol, 2009 Jul;34(5):e18-20

Dermatofibroma (DF) is a common benign fibrohistiocytic tumour with a predilection for the legs in middle-aged women. Giant DF, a rare clinical variant of DF, is characterized by its unusually large size. Granular cell change is typical of granular cell tumour, but can be observed in diverse cell lineages. Traumatic factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of giant DF and cellular granularity.

We describe a 49-year-old Korean man with a giant DF showing granular cell differentiation, which may have been caused in part by multiple treatments with bee-venom acupuncture.

Green Propolis Has Better Antibacterial Activity Than Stingless Bee Propolis

Effects of Stingless Bee and Honey Bee Propolis on Four Species of Bacteria
Genet Mol Res, 2009;8(2):635-40

We examined the antibacterial activities of several types of propolis, including Africanized honey bee green propolis and propolis produced by meliponini bees. The antibacterial activity of green propolis against Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus aureus was superior to that of Melipona quadrifasciata and Scaptotrigona sp propolis. Only two samples of propolis (green propolis and Scaptotrigona sp propolis) were efficient against Escherichia coli. Melipona quadrifasciata propolis was better than green propolis and Scaptotrigona sp propolis against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We concluded that these resins have potential for human and veterinary medicine…

Although we did no chemical analyses of the propolis extracts, propolis composition should certainly differ among these samples and would be responsible for their differing antibacterial activity. This conclusion is supported by the findings of Bankova et al. (1998), who reported differences in propolis chemical composition produced by species of Brazilian stingless bees.

We conclude that, in general, green honey bee propolis is better than stingless bee propolis; we also conclude that these resins have potential importance for human and veterinary medicine.

Video: Bees Go Sightseeing in NYC

NEW YORK (WABC) -- An urban bee-wrangler says a swarm of at least 8,000 honeybees will be getting a new home after causing a buzz of excitement on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Onlookers applauded as the New York Police Department's beekeeper, Officer Anthony Planakis, corralled the huge swarm Sunday on Lexington Avenue…

‘Electronic Tongue’ Used to Identify Honey Floral Origins

Technique Potential for Classification of Honey by Electronic Tongue
Journal of Food Engineering, Volume 94, Issues 3-4, October 2009, Pages 260-266

An electronic tongue was used to classify honey samples of different floral origins and geographical origins. Eight kinds of honeys of different floral origins and five kinds of Acacia honeys of different geographical origins were detected. The data obtained were analyzed by three-pattern recognition techniques: Principal component analysis (PCA), Cluster analysis (CA), and Artificial neural network (ANN).

It was possible to discriminate the eight kinds of honeys of different floral origins completely based on PCA, while good results were shown by CA and ANN, too; the five kinds of Acacia honey from different geographical origins could not be differentiated clearly by PCA, however, ANN was the most effective feature extraction method compared with CA and PCA, and the correction rate could reach to 95%.

The soluble sugar content and conductance of the samples were also detected in this paper and some interesting regularity is shown in the score plots with the help of PCA.

Unrefined Beeswax Key Ingredient in Skin Care Line

Di Minds Her Own Beeswax
The Daily (Australia), 6/27/2009

Imagine running a business where your primary source of production is beeswax, yet you are allergic to bees.

For Di Elliott, that's a reality she gladly lives with because the alternative is unconscionable.

The 58-year-old operates Essdale Park Australia at Kilkivan, about an hour-and-a-half north of the Sunshine Coast.

There she makes organic, naturally-derived skincare products from a combination of beeswax, lavender and essential oils that help with various skin conditions…

Soon after, Di started introducing the products she had initially only been making for herself and her family to the farm, where they proved very popular with guests.

At one stage, they had 26 products on the go - using their very own lavender and beeswax.

“We kept getting these amazing reports (about our products),” Di said.

Intrigued about the feedback, Di began to investigate her products further and found that the “miracle” ingredient was actually the beeswax, which was also produced on-farm.

What makes the beeswax even more beneficial, Di believes, is its unrefined form - something that is not available to most manufacturers.

“Our bees take their richness from our Aussie bush and botanical plants,” she said.

“We know where they obtain their pollen from and this makes our product unique - sourced directly from our own farm.

“You can smell the difference.”…

Organic First Aid Kit Contains Manuka Honey Antiseptic Cream

Five of the Best... First Aid Kits
Daily Mail (UK), 6/27/2009

The Organic Pharmacy, £44.04

Contains homeopathic and natural remedies, including arnica cream for bruising, tea tree and manuka honey antiseptic cream and urtica and lavender burn cream.
www.theorganicpharmacy.com

Propolis Flavonoid Linked to Antibacterial Activity

Bioactivity of Propolis from Santiago Del Estero, Argentina, Related to Their Chemical Composition
LWT - Food Science and Technology, Volume 42, Issue 8, October 2009, Pages 1422-1427

Propolis, an extremely complex resinous material gathered by honeybees from various plant sources, exhibits valuable pharmacological and biological properties attributed to the presence of polyphenols.

This study examined the antibacterial, antiradical and antioxidant activities of propolis from different provenances and correlated the values with total levels of polyphenolic compounds and flavonoids. Besides, individual contents of those polyphenols with antioxidant ability were determined and related with their bioactivity.

Analyzed samples presented a noticeable variability in their antioxidant and antiradical activities, although, linear relationships were found between them and also between polyphenol and flavonoid total levels.

Propolis antiradical and protective abilities against lipid oxidation are related to its high levels of polyphenols, but their correlations with individual active-compound contents were not simple.

Antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus of the samples presented low variability. This bioactivity is assigned to pinocembrin, present in high concentrations in all the samples studied. Good correlation was found between such activity and pinocembrin content. Linear relationships between antibacterial activity and polyphenol and flavonoid total levels were also found.

Plant Source of Brazilian Green Propolis Shows Antileishmanial Activity

In Vitro Antileishmanial, Antiplasmodial and Cytotoxic Activities of Phenolics and Triterpenoids from Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraceae)
Fitoterapia, 2009 Jun 17

Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae), the most important plant source of the Brazilian green propolis (GPE), displayed in vitro activity against Leishmania donovani, with an IC(50) value of 45 microg/mL, while GPE presented an IC(50) value of 49 microg/mL. Among the isolated compounds of B. dracunculifolia, ursolic acid, and hautriwaic acid lactone showed IC(50) values of 3.7 microg/mL and 7.0 microg/mL, respectively. Uvaol, acacetin, and ermanin displayed moderate antileishmanial activity.

Regarding the antiplasmodial assay against Plasmodium falciparum, BdE and GPE gave similar IC(50) values (about 20 microg/mL), while Hautriwaic acid lactone led to an IC(50) value of 0.8 microg/mL (D6 clone).

Fake Honey Sold to Tourists in Malaysia

KOTA KINABALU, June 26 (Bernama) -- If you have bought honey here or in Kundasang and Ranau, make sure that it is not fake honey produced by a group whose activities were uncovered yesterday…

The team from the ministry, assisted by representatives from the Health Department and police, made the raid at about 10 am after observing the place for three weeks following a public tip-off, the ministry's state enforcement chief, Rosle A. Hamid, told reporters here today.

"A check revealed that the honey produced by the group actually contained sugar which had been boiled," he said.

The fake honey produced by the group had been distributed mainly in the three districts which were popular among tourists…