16 Mar Benefits of bioactive compounds of bee products.
Covid-19 represents one of the biggest challenges facing the world today. Can honeybee products help protect against this pandemic? Scientists are still searching for a successful vaccine to prevent infections or to be effective in the treatment of covid infected people.
Apitherapy involves the use of bee derived products such as honey, propolis, bee venom, bee bread and royal jelly for prolonging, sustaining, and retaining health. Their antiviral potential was extensively proven in previous studies that these products are considered candidate for treatment of Covid-19.
Phenolic compounds found in honey, propolis and royal jelly commonly present as flavonoids, contribute to the many functional properties of bee products including their antioxidant antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, wound healing, and cardioprotective activities.
Honeybee products are well known for their nutritional and medicinal values. Bees have been employed for ages for various therapeutic purposes. Today promising effects of various bee products are being considered against the emerging pandemic of covid-19. Products of honeybees that contain mixtures of potentially active chemicals, possess unique properties that might help to protect, fight, and alleviate symptoms of this infection.
HONEY:
When taken it coats the inner lining of the throat and destroys potentially harmful microbes, while simultaneously soothing the throat. Honey is more potent for supressing a cough than dextromethorphan and diphenhydramine. Chronic bronchitis and bronchial asthma have been used to effectively treat and manage asthma in rabbits and has been suggested to be a promising treatment for asthma in humans.
PROPOLIS:
Propolis is commonly know as the “bee glue” a common term that refers to the resinous material that bees obtain from various plant types. Propolis works in fixing holes and cracks, and in beehive restoration. This is often used to smooth the inner surface, maintain internal temperature as well as avoiding weathering and pest invasion. Propolis becomes soft and sticky when heated! Propolis and its extracts have multiple applications in treating various diseases. It contains caffeic acid, phenethyl ester, and artepillin C with antiviral, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.
BEE VENOM:
Bee venom is a salty colorless liquid containing a combination of peptides and enzyme. One of the first natural treatments for arthritis was possibly bee stings. Bee venom was used for apitherapy in ancient China, India, Egypt, Babylon, and Greece. The ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates used venom from bees for medicinal use. He identifies it as “Arcanum”, a mysterious substance of which he did not understand but contained curing properties.
Lots of money and effort is being pumped into Apitherapy all over the world, for this reason one needs to stand up and listen to what’s coming out of this research so we can all have hope for the future.
