What is Bee Propolis? How Do Bees Make It?
Propolis Benefits Inside and Outside the Hive
When people think about products that bees produce they often think of honey and beeswax, but bees also make other products such as royal jelly and propolis. Benefits of each of these products can be seen inside the beehive and outside the hive.
Honey Uses
Let’s start with honey since this is what most people are interested in when they start a honey bee farm. Honey is the sweet stuff that bees make to feed the hive. When foraging bees are out collecting, they either collect nectar or pollen. If the bee is collecting nectar she stores the nectar in her nectar “sacs” until they are full. If she gets hungry while out collecting, she can open a valve in her stomach and some of the nectar can be used for her own sustenance.
Once she has all the nectar she can hold, she returns to the hive and passes off the nectar to the honey making bees. The bees continue to pass the nectar from one bee to another until the water content has been reduced to about 20%. Once the water has been reduced, the honey gets put into an empty honeycomb cell and capped. Now it is ready for the hive to use.
Inside the hive, the honey is mixed with pollen and used to feed the newborns. The bees also use the honey to feed the whole hive when they are not able to go out and collect nectar. Therefore, it’s super important for the beekeeper to leave the bees plenty of honey when harvesting. If they don’t have enough honey to feed the hive through the winter, they won’t survive.
Outside the hive, honey is a wonderful sweetener. Honey that is raw, which means it hasn’t been heated and filtered, has enzymes that actually help you digest the honey. Raw honey also has some anti-microbial properties and can be used in wound care, to soothe sore throats, in skin care products and to help with stomach ulcers.
Beeswax Uses
Beeswax is another commonly known product that bees make. The worker bees have special wax glands on their abdomens. The workers eat honey and their bodies convert the sugars in the honey into wax. The wax oozes out of small pores on their abdomens in small flakes. The bees chew the wax to make it soft enough to mold and then they add the chewed wax to the building of the honeycomb.
Of course, inside the hive the honeycomb is used for holding honey. But it’s also used for the queen to lay her eggs and for the workers to raise the brood. The honeycomb takes a while to build and the bees need to eat quite a bit of honey to make it. This is why most beekeepers will try to keep from damaging or harvesting much beeswax.
There are also many beeswax uses outside of the hive. One of the first beeswax projects people do is learn how to make beeswax candles. Beeswax can also be used in salves and balms, home projects such as wood wax or conditioner, and art projects such as resist painting.
Royal Jelly Uses
The nurse bees produce a highly nutritious substance called Royal Jelly from a gland near their head. They feed the Royal Jelly to all the larvae for a couple of days, but they feed Royal Jelly to the queen for her entire life. This is why it’s called Royal Jelly.
Many people consume Royal Jelly for health reasons as it contains protein, trace minerals, and vitamins (particularly B vitamins).
Propolis Uses
Propolis is a super-sticky substance bees make by mixing saliva and beeswax with tree resin that has been gathered on foraging trips. When cold, propolis is hard and brittle. When warm, propolis is bendable and gooey.
Propolis is used in the hive to seal any cracks or holes because it acts very much like bee glue. Propolis benefits the hive as it helps with the structural stability, reduces alternate entrances, prevents intruders from entering the hive, and reduces vibration. Propolis is also used to keep the hive sanitary. Whenever an intruder enters the hive, the bees will sting it to death and then remove it from the hive. However, if the intruder is large, such as a lizard or mouse, they can’t remove it. To keep the carcass from decomposing in the hive, the bees will cover it in propolis. The propolis acts as a mummifying agent and keeps the hive sterile and tidy.
Outside the hive, there are many propolis benefits. Like other bee products, propolis benefits include antimicrobial properties. Propolis is used in cosmetic and medicinal skin care products such as ointments and creams, throat lozenges, nasal sprays, and toothpaste. Propolis can also be found in items such as chewing gum, car waxes, and wood varnishes. Many people make a propolis tincture as it’s more convenient than taking raw propolis.
Do you use bee products other than honey? Have you explored the many propolis benefits? Let us know in the comments below.
What Is Bee Propolis, and How Can It Benefit Me?
We detest bees at backyard barbecues or for buzzing around the flower garden, but we love them for the honey they produce. That’s not all they are good for, either. There are several bee-manufactured compounds drawing rave notices in the world of nutritional supplements; one of those is a waxy substance known as “bee propolis.” It is a potent health balm sometimes referred to as “bee glue,” which has been used in folk medicine for thousands of years.
The health benefits afforded by bee propolis are almost as numerous as bees in a swarm, but certainly a lot more endearing. Those folk medicine practitioners, per used bee propolis for such things as treating abscesses, healing wounds, and warding off infections. The London 17th century pharmacopoeias – a medicinal drug directory, in laymen’s terms – included bee propolis on its list of official drugs.
One of bee propolis’s best-known virtues is that it is a natural antibiotic. That makes it a potentially strong option for contemporary medical use with prescription antibiotics being used less and less out of concern of an ongoing buildup of drug resistance among “superbugs.”
How Is Bee Propolis Manufactured?
Bee propolis is a resin-like substance used by bees to bind together the materials of their hives. These stinger-equipped insects combine beeswax – can we call this “minding their own beeswax”? – with other secretions of theirs sourced from the buds of poplar and conifer trees, per
It gets better. The propolis isn’t just construction material – it also is used by bees as an antimicrobial security “device,” or what describes as an “antiseptic barrier” designed to protect the beehive (and it inhabitants) from unwanted external invaders such as mice, snakes, and lizards. Note that “propolis” is derived from the Greek phrasing for “defense of the city.”
What Are the Main Benefits of Bee Propolis
What makes bee propolis special is not just that it provides numerous notable benefits, it’s that those benefits run the gamut from dental concerns to unsightly warts, and a whole lot in between. If you are using prescription drugs or other treatments for any of the conditions listed below, don’t trade them in for bee propolis supplements without first discussing it with your physician. Also be aware that if you are known to have allergic reactions that you should avoid bee products that contain bee pollen, royal jelly, or propolis.
Antibiotic . As mentioned above, the use of antibiotics in today’s medical practices has become a subject of serious concern. It is such a concern that the World Health Organization has issued a warning that we could be in for a “post-antibiotic era” in which diseases kept in check by modern medicine could once again become a threat, per . Researchers have found bee propolis to be a robust antibiotic effective against a variety of bacteria, including staph.
Treating infections : Bee propolis’s varied antibacterial properties is supplemented by its anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory effects, and anti-viral characteristics as well, per . One animal study showed that a propolis solution applied to wounds of diabetic rats sped up healing. Benefits for children have included reducing the symptoms of respiratory tract infections, sore throats, and symptoms of the common cold, and resisting middle-ear infections.
Heals minor burns . A 2002 study cited at indicated that propolis was just as effective as the drug silver sulfadiazine in remedying second-degree burns.
Prevents cavities . Propolis has been used since ancient times as a mouth disinfectant, with more contemporary studies showing possible effectiveness in treating periodontitis and gingivitis. Use of propolis can also reduce bacterial plaque.
Treats genital herpes . As a propolis ointment, bee propolis has proven more effective than a common drug used to treat genital herpes, per .
Enhance immune function . Propolis, being rich in flavonoids, can slow down the degeneration of cells in a deteriorating immune system while promoting cellular regeneration, per .
Treat hypertension . Propolis can lower elevated blood pressure by decreasing TH activity, which in turn helps restore nitric oxide needed for the inner lining of your blood vessels.
Relieve allergy symptoms . Mainly, seasonal allergies, by inhibiting histamine release within the body.
Other possible benefits include counteracting food-poisoning effects, eliminating warts, healing cold sores, treating parasites, and stopping ear and respiratory infections.
* Statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. WonderLabs always recommends reviewing any nutritional supplement changes with your primary medical provider.
What is Bee Propolis? How Do Bees Make It?
Propolis Being Made by Honey Bees
Many beekeepers consider propolis a nuisance – being unaware of its healing properties. However, propolis has been used as a natural remedy by humans all over the world for millennia.
Harvested in its raw state, propolis first goes through a refining process. This removes most of the wax, along with bits of wood and other debris. Generally, for every 100g of raw propolis, around 40g of refined propolis can be produced.
Propolis is high in flavonoids. This is a group of chemicals known for their antioxidant effects. An interesting fact about propolis is that depending on where it is harvested its chemical make-up varies. This is because the trees bees use to make this precious resin vary from location to location. As a result, some propolis appears to be more antiviral, whilst other propolis may be more anti-fungal or anti-inflammatory.
The refined propolis can then be used in various ways. For example, for capsules and tablets the propolis is ground into a fine powder before encapsulation. For liquid products such the refined propolis is combined with alcohol or glycol. This process causes the flavonoids to be extracted into the liquid. Alcohol is highly bioavailable – meaning it is quickly absorbed by the body. Subsequently, Propolis Tincture has been one of the primary methods of consuming propolis.
Propolis products vary, and so do their application. Propolis can be applied topically – directly to the skin. This can be especially helpful for treating things like acne, where the anti-inflammatory properties of propolis can help reduce inflammation. For example, our Propolis Cream contains propolis extract and can be applied directly to the skin. Our Propolis Lip Balm contains propolis extract along with Vitamin E which is known to promote skin health. Propolis can also be found in oral health products. These include Propolis Toothpaste, Propolis Mouthwash and our ground-breaking B-Gel. All of these products are efficient ways to apply propolis directly to the area needing treatment.
Alternatively, Propolis Tablets and Propolis Capsules are great ways of consuming propolis regularly. Propolis has a strong taste, so being able to swallow propolis in the form of a capsule is preferable for some.
In recent years propolis has transitioned from being a folk remedy to something which is the subject of much scientific research. In many nations around the globe propolis is a regular part of healthcare. It is particularly well used in Brazil, South East Asia and Japan, for example. But now, with much ground-breaking research being undertaken into its medicinal properties, propolis is becoming far better known in other parts of the world.
In recent years antibiotic resistance has become a major concern for healthcare professionals. Research demonstrates that propolis has the potential to reverse this trend. Research has also been undertaken into the use of propolis to treating patients with respiritory illnesses with promising results.
We have compiled a selection of scientific research papers which demonstrate the power of propolis. These are all peer-reviewed projects undertaken by some of the world’s leading researchers. We encourage you to have a look at some of the evidence for yourself.
