German Apitherapy Conference to be Held March 25-27, 2011

9th German Apitherapy Congress will take place in Passau from March 25th to 27th 2011.

Report of Interaction Between Blood Thinner and Bee-Collected Pollen

Probable Interaction Between Warfarin and Bee Pollen Am J Health Syst Pharm, 2010 Dec 1;67(23):2034-7

Problem: A probable interaction between warfarin and honeybee-collected pollen is reported.

Summary: A 71-year-old Caucasian man arrived at an anticoagulation clinic for routine warfarin monitoring with an International Normalized Ratio (INR) value of 7.1 (therapeutic range, 2.0-3.0). His medical history included atrial flutter, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, erectile dysfunction, obesity, and hypothyroidism.

His medication regimen included warfarin, hydrochlorothiazide, lisinopril, levothyroxine, simvastatin, glyburide, metformin, vardenafil, aspirin, a multivitamin, and the herbal products Cataplex E2, Cataplex B, and Cyruta. The dosages of all medications and herbal products had been stable for the previous nine months, including warfarin (INR, 1.9-3.3).

The patient began taking bee pollen granules (one teaspoon orally twice daily) for a perceived general health benefit one month before this clinic visit. He denied use of alcohol and tobacco, changes in dietary phytonadione intake, missed or extra doses of warfarin, any other medication changes, and acute illness and diarrhea.

Warfarin was withheld, and the patient was seen at the anticoagulation clinic three days later with an INR of 3.7. Warfarin was held for a fourth day and then restarted with the weekly dose decreased by 11%. The patient continued to take bee pollen, and all INR values during the next seven months were within or near the therapeutic range. Use of the Drug Interaction Probability Scale indicated that there was a probable interaction between bee pollen and warfarin.

Conclusion: Consumption of bee pollen led to increased INR values in a patient taking warfarin.

New Technique for Honey Quality Control

α-Relaxation in Honey Study Versus Moisture Content: High frequency Ultrasonic Investigation Around Room Temperature
Journal of Food Engineering, Volume 103, Issue 2, March 2011, Pages 165-169

Ultrasonic longitudinal attenuation and velocity have been measured for various frequencies between 0.5 and 13.5 MHz versus temperature, in honeys with moisture contents between 15% and 19%.

With the help of attenuation measurements, the temperature of the alpha transition Tα (associated with the glass transition) has been deduced versus moisture content and ultrasonic frequency. Regarding the high sensitivity of Tα towards moisture content, one can distinguish two honeys with moisture contents difference less than 0.1%.

Considering the fact that the experiments are not difficult to perform and are carried out at around room temperature, this technique could be useful for honey quality control or more generally for aqueous polymers study.

China Starts to Scrutinize Food Firms Against Propolis Adulteration

BEIJING, Nov. 25, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- China's food and drug authority has ordered meticulous checks of health food firms to prevent the use of tree gum to make propolis-based food.
The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) issued a circular Thursday and asked its local agencies to scrutinize the health food producers, which shall be "severely dealt with" for any illegal activities, especially the fraudulent use of tree gum as bee resin.

This move came after local media recently reported that some bee propolis products in China's market are actually tree gum that had been adulterated in order to save on production costs.

According to the circular, all health food firms should work to keep a record of information concerning the purchase of raw materials including propolis, ensure the suppliers of raw materials are traceable, and take measures to guarantee the quality of raw materials...

Honey Products Heading for Revival

By Kate Shapland, The Telegraph (UK), 11/23/2010

Although honey-based products have been part of the beauty firmament for years, honey's reparative qualities have taken a back seat to other natural properties recently. But this week, with the opening of a London shop (see below) for Melvita - an organic beauty line founded by the French biologist and beekeeper Bernard Chevilliat - honey brands such as Burt's Bees, Perlier and Apicare, and the nutritious qualities of pollen and royal jelly, are heading for a revival. The inspiration for Melvita came from Chevilliat's passion for bees and concerns about the decline of their colonies owing to increased use of insecticides, urbanisation and pollution. He wanted Melvita (from the Latin words for honey and life) to respect and nurture our skin and the environment. So instead of merely slapping the overused 'natural' tag on his products and waiting for them to work, he used only organically and responsibly sourced ingredients in his formulas, excluding properties not clinically proven safe. Chevilliat also ensures that each is traceable - a criterion of France's Ecocert standard, which Melvita holds...

System Melvita Organic Flower Pollen (£14) - the bees' protein-rich 'daily bread' with excellent restorative and revitalising qualities. Melvita, 19 Slingsby Place, St Martin's Courtyard, London WC2 (0800-138 7045; melvita.co.uk)

Bee Products Enhance Healing Properties of Skin Cream

If it’s good enough for Cleopatra...The ancient Egyptian beauty formulas that still work today
By Liz Stout, The Daily Mail (UK), 11/25/2010

Beauty-conscious consumers will be surprised that the latest skin cream is based on a formula that’s 2,500 years old.

Egyptian Magic (£32.99, revital.co.uk) has A-list devotees who include Kate Hudson, Madonna and Emily Blunt…

Olive oil gives skin a healthy sheen, while beeswax and honey bathe it in age-fighting antioxidants. Other key ingredients are bee pollen, royal jelly and bee propolis.

Scientific research on its healing benefits suggests it could help to minimise scars, burns, stretch marks and insect bites, too…

Health Benefits of Bee Products Praised

Giving Thanks for Gifts from the Bees
By Dr. Reese Halter, Santa Monica Daily Press, 11/23/2010

...Honey contains over 200 substances. Bees secrete a glucose oxidase enzyme that assists in converting nectar into honey. Along with oxygen the glucose enzyme splits the glucose molecule into water and hydrogen peroxide. Due to its hydrogen peroxide and glucose oxidase content, honey is a powerful antiseptic.

High amounts of malic, citric, tartaric, oxalic and other organic acids combined with the enzymes catalase and peroxidase give honey its renowned antibacterial properties.

With over 80 percent sugar content and its natural acidity honey creates an inhospitable environment for the single-celled microbes that form infections. The low water content of honey keeps bacteria, which thrives in water, from flourishing. The ancient Mayan shamans realized this and successfully used honey-based medicines to treat cataracts, conjunctivitis, chills, fevers and open wounds. Today, some modern bandage companies line their products with diluted traces of honey.

Honey is loaded with vitamins and minerals. It contains water soluble B1, B2, B6, panothenic and nicotinic acids, vitamin C — as well as high amounts of fat soluble vitamins E, K and A. Honey also provides us with essential minerals: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, magnesium and sulfur.

Some of these minerals in the specific concentrations found in honey mimic the concentrations of blood serum. Therefore honey metabolizes easily and can be an important source of essential nutrients. In addition, the combination of glucose and fructose and some maltose, melezitose and dextrin makes honey an excellent source of caloric energy.

Some researchers suggest that a teaspoon or two of honey before bed ensures a restorative sleep. Floridian tupelo and New Zealand manuka honeys are low on the glycemic index and therefore best for diabetics.

Beeswax is a somewhat silent partner in the daily lives of people around the world. From cosmetics, stick colognes, antiperspirants, candies and dental impressions to the mouth-pieces of didgeridoos, beeswax is often an important component.

Did you know that your pool table has beeswax filling its screw holes and seams between slates? Beeswax thread is still preferred by shoemakers — and sailors — because of its durability and resistance to weathering. Furniture and automobile polish, industrial lubricants, paint removers and even the frets on a two-stringed Philippine Kutiyapi boat-lute, they all rely on the wax of the bees.

Did you know that the Roman Catholic Church uses about 3.1 million pounds of beeswax in their candles each year, which are 49 percent beeswax?

Beehives can tell scientists a lot about the health and well-being of local environments. In fact, beeswax is a sponge for toxic chemicals. This past springtime researchers examined beehives from 23 states and Canadian provinces and found 121 different insecticides in 887 samples of bees, wax, pollen and hives.

Of even more concern was that three out of five pollen and wax samples from 23 states had at least one systemic insecticide — a poison designated to spread throughout all parts of the plant including its pollen and nectar. One group of these chemicals, neonictinoids, are lethal to bees, moths, beneficial soil insects and known to contaminate fresh waterways.

Since 1957, the former USSR has used extracts of bee stings — bee venom, known as apis — to treat rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating autoimmune diseases. The powerful anti-inflammatory effects of melittin and adolapin in bee venom — along with apamin, improve nerve transmission and are being used to effectively treat fibromyalgia and tendonitis. Twelve European countries have officially recognized bee venom solution as a drug...

Propolis Protects Cartilage in Arthritic Joints

The Influence of Irradiation on the Potential Chondroprotective Effect of Aqueous Extract of Propolis in Rats
Int J Radiat Biol, 2010 Nov 19

Purpose: Cartilage degradation usually results as a consequence of inflammatory processes in the joints. To study this phenomenon experimentally, adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) was used as a model of chronic inflammation under the influence of irradiation. The potential chondroprotective effect of 13% aqueous extract of propolis (AEP) in arthritic rats was investigated.

Materials and methods: The influence of whole body irradiation on the arthritic inflammatory response was investigated by subjecting rats to a Gamma source before the induction of arthritis. 13% AEP was injected intraperitoneally in a dose of 5 ml/kg and diclofenac was used as reference non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in a dose of 3 mg/kg. The chosen parameters for cartilage integrity were glycosaminoglycan (GAG), hydroxyproline contents in cartilage and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) in serum. The serum levels of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), nitric oxide (NO) and the oxidative stress biomarkers such as blood glutathione (GSH) and plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) levels.

Results: Induction of arthritis led to a reduction in GAG and hydroxyproline content of femoral cartilage and a corresponding rise in COMP in serum. Previous exposure to irradiation resulted in a milder reduction of GAG and hydroxyproline and a lesser rise in COMP. Treatment of arthritic irradiated and non-irradiated rats with 13% AEP markedly prevented the breakdown of cartilage in a much more effective manner than diclofenac. Both AEP and diclofenac were equipotent in reducing the level of TNF-α and were able to normalize NO and the oxidative stress biomarkers in non-irradiated and irradiated arthritic rats.

Conclusion: The ability of propolis to protect cartilage degradation could therefore prove of value in the treatment of chronic arthritic diseases, offering an advantage over some NSAID, particularly those with a potential detrimental effect on cartilage integrity.

Collecting Bee Venom

The bee venom manufacturing process has a few steps:
Source: ApiHealth

1. Bee venom collection from bees on the apiary.

All the existing types of electrical devices for bee venom collection have a common working element - bee venom collection frame. It comprises a bee venom collection frame with wire electrodes installed in parallel to each other. Electrical current goes through them in the form of impulses

Bee venom frames are mounted on the top of honey frames in every hive and then are connected to an electro-stimulator. The electro-stimulator is switched on and the time of the treatment is recorded. In the course of stimulation the behavior of bees in the electrical field between the wires of bee venom frame is watched.

Bees that come into contact with the wires received a mild electrical shock and stung onto the glass sheet . The alarm odor, which evaporated from the venom, mobilized and irritated the other bees and they also started to sting. At completion of the collection, the electrical stimulator is switched off and the bees are shaken off from the bee venom frames.

The bee venom collected dries on the glass. The frames with the fresh dried bee venom on them are carefully packed into a special container for transportation to the laboratory…

Bee Venom Inhibits Prostate Cancer

Anti-Cancer Effect of Bee Venom in Prostate Cancer Cells Through Activation of Caspase Pathway Via Inactivation of NF-κB†
The Prostate, Early View (Articles online in advance of print)

Bee venom has been used as a traditional medicine to treat arthritis, rheumatism, back pain, cancerous tumors, and skin diseases. However, the effects of bee venom on the prostate cancer and their action mechanisms have not been reported yet.

Methods

To determine the effect of bee venom and its major component, melittin on the prostate cancer cells, apoptosis is analyzed by tunnel assay and apoptotic gene expression. For xenograft studies, bee venom was administrated intraperitoneally twice per week for 4 weeks, and the tumor growth was measured and the tumor were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. To investigate whether bee venom and melittin can inactivate nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), we assessed NF-κB activity in vitro and in vivo.

Results and Conclusions

Bee venom (1–10 µg/ml) and melittin (0.5–2.5 µg/ml) inhibited cancer cell growth through induction of apoptotic cell death in LNCaP, DU145, and PC-3 human prostate cancer cells. These effects were mediated by the suppression of constitutively activated NF-κB. Bee venom and melittin decreased anti-apoptotic proteins but induced pro-apoptotic proteins. However, pan caspase inhibitor abolished bee venom and melittin-induced apoptotic cell death and NF-κB inactivation. Bee venom (3–6 mg/kg) administration to nude mice implanted with PC-3 cells resulted in inhibition of tumor growth and activity of NF-κB accompanied with apoptotic cell death.

Therefore, these results indicated that bee venom and melittin could inhibit prostate cancer in in vitro and in vivo, and these effects may be related to NF-κB/caspase signal mediated induction of apoptotic cell death.

Propolis Component Protects Kidneys

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Protects Against Oxidative Stress-Related Renal Dysfunction in Rats Treated with Cyclosporin A
Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology, Early View (Articles online in advance of print)

The therapeutic index of cyclosporin A (CsA), an immunosuppressive drug, is limited by its nephrotoxic effect. Oxidative stress is suggested to play a crucial role as pathogenic factors.

The present study aimed at investigating the effects of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), a phenolic antioxidant, on renal function, morphology, and oxidative stress following CsA treatment.

Rats were treated with vehicle, CsA (50 mg/kg), and CsA plus CAPE (10 and 30 μmol/kg) for 10 days. Renal function, histopathology, and tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels were evaluated 24 h after the last treatment.

CsA produced nephrotoxicity as indicated by a significant increase in serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, but decrease creatinine and urea clearance compared to those treated with vehicle. Severe vacuolations and tubular necrosis were evident in the kidney of CsA-treated rats. CsA also increased renal MDA and decreased GSH content significantly. Administration of CAPE along with CsA restored all the changes caused by CsA.

These results clearly demonstrate the pivotal role of oxidative stress and its relation to renal dysfunction and also point to the protective potential of CAPE against CsA nephrotoxicity. The protection afforded by CAPE is mediated, at least in part, through inhibiting renal lipid peroxidation and enhancing or maintaining the antioxidant glutathione content.

Royal Jelly Fatty Acids Studied

The Absolute Configurations of Hydroxy Fatty Acids from the Royal Jelly of Honeybees (Apis mellifera)
Lipids, 2010 Nov 17

9-Hydroxy-2E-decenoic acid (9-HDA) is a precursor of the queen-produced substance, 9-oxo-2E-decenoic acid (9-ODA), which has various important functions and roles for caste maintenance in honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera).

9-HDA in royal jelly is considered to be a metabolite of 9-ODA produced by worker bees, and it is fed back to the queen who then transforms it into 9-ODA.

Recently we found that 9-HDA is present in royal jelly as a mixture of optical isomers (R:S, 2:1). The finding leads us to suspect that chiral fatty acids in royal jelly are precursors of semiochemicals.

Rather than looking for semiochemicals in the mandibular glands of the queen bee, this study involves the search for precursors of pheromones from large quantities of royal jelly.

Seven chiral hydroxy fatty acids, 9,10-dihydroxy-2E-decenoic, 4,10-dihydroxy-2E-decenoic, 4,9-dihydroxy-2E-decenoic, 3-hydroxydecanoic, 3,9-dihydroxydecanoic, 3,11-dihydroxydodecanoic, and 3,10-dihydroxydecanoic acids were isolated.

The absolute configurations of these acids were determined using the modified Mosher's method, and it was revealed that, similar to 9-HDA, five acids are present in royal jelly as mixtures of optical isomers.

Study Examines Anti-Inflammatory Action of Chinese Propolis

Inhibitory Effect of Chinese Propolis on Phosphatidylcholine-Specific Phospholipase C Activity in Vascular Endothelial Cells
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2011 (2011)

To understand the mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory action of Chinese propolis, we investigated its effect on the activity of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) that plays critical roles in control of vascular endothelial cell (VEC) function and inflammatory responses. Furthermore, p53 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) were investigated.

Our data indicated that treatment of Chinese propolis 6.25 and 12.5 μg/ml for 12 hours increased VEC viability obviously. Exposure to Chinese propolis 6.25, 12.5, and 25 μg/ml for 6 and 12 hours significantly decreased PC-PLC activity and p53 level, and ROS levels were depressed by Chinese propolis 12.5 μg/ml and 25 μg/ml dramatically.

The Δψm of VECs was not affected by Chinese propolis at low concentration but disrupted by the propolis at 25 μg/ml significantly, which indicated that Chinese propolis depressed PC-PLC activity and the levels of p53 and ROS in VECs but disrupted Δψm at a high concentration.

New Purification Method Creates Water-Soluble Propolis

New Method to Purify Propolis for Mouth Ulcer Gel Source: University of Bradford

The healing properties of propolis - a mixture of resin and wax made by honey bees to seal and sterilise their hives - have been known for many years. But its use in medicine and food supplements has been limited because the sticky substance is not water soluble and has a strong, off-putting smell.

Now researchers at the University of Bradford's Centre for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science have developed a way of purifying propolis that retains its medicinal properties, but makes it dissolve in water and eliminates its pungent smell. The technique has already led to the development of a new mouth ulcer gel and opens the door to a huge range of other pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications for the substance.

"Propolis is a complex chemical mix and a very useful natural product," explains Centre Director, Professor Anant Paradkar, who led the research. "Propolis has been shown to be anti-microbial, anti-fungal, a strong anti-oxidant, non-allergenic and can boost the immune system. It also promotes wound healing and has anaesthetic properties…

Honey Can Help Manage Wound Odor

Managing Wound Odor #218
Journal of Palliative Medicine, October 2010: 1286-1287

Honey can be bacteriocidal, and has been increasingly studied for wound healing.

There is some evidence that it decreases odor.