Bee propolis

Category: Medicines - non plant based

Type

Voluntary

Introduction and description

Propolis is a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive. Propolis is used for small gaps (approximately 6 millimeters (0.24 in) or less), while larger spaces are usually filled with beeswax. Its color varies depending on its botanical source, the most common being dark brown. Propolis is sticky at and above room temperature, 20 °C (68 °F). At lower temperatures, it becomes hard and very brittle

For centuries, beekeepers assumed that bees sealed the beehive with propolis to protect the colony from the elements, such as rain and cold winter drafts. However, 20th century research revealed that bees not only survive, but also thrive, with increased ventilation during the winter months throughout most temperate regions of the world. Propolis is now believed to:

• reinforce the structural stability of the hive;
• reduce vibration;
• make the hive more defensible by sealing alternate entrances;
• prevent diseases and parasites from entering the hive, and to inhibit fungal and bacterial growth;
• prevent putrefaction within the hive.  

From this list we can see that propolis has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and antiviral activity.

Method

You can eat propolis when it is in honey that has been collected by hand, but in some of the applications it seems to be more often applied to the area affected

How it works

Being investigated by scientists now

Advantages

Natural

Easily applied

Disadvantages

You need to know a traditional beekeeper to get a genuine supply

Bees are being decimated by man made products and commercial bee keeping practices.  Rudolf Steiner wrote a prophetic book about the effects of commercial intensive bee-keeping, it is worth a read

Related observations

Healing observations

• Antipsoriatic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects of an extract of red propolis 021339
• Bee products and healing 005335
• Bugs as drugs, Part 1, Insects the the 'new' alternative medicine for the 21st century? 021341
• Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of propolis collected by three different races of honeybees in the same region 020527
• Honey and leukemia 005338
• Inhibitory effect of a propolis on di-n-propyl disulfide or n-hexyl salycilate-induced skin irritation, oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in mice 021340
• Propolis and cancer 005337
• Propolis and dementia 005336
• Propolis and the immune system 005339
• Propolis and warts 005334
• Propolis C Albicans, MRSA and E Coli 005340
• Propolis ointment and herpes 005341