Propolis

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Propolis is a wax-like resinous substance collected by honey bees from tree buds or other botanical sources and used as cement and to seal cracks or open spaces in the hive. Its color varies from green to brown and reddish, depending of its botanical source. Honey bees will use propolis to attempt to seal any gap inside the hive that is smaller than 3/16" or 1/4" (5 mm or 6 mm) while they leave themselves a bee space of approximately 9.5 mm, or 3/8", larger spaces being filled with wax comb.

Traditionally, beekeepers assumed that bees sealed the cracks and joints of the beehive with propolis to protect the colony from the elements (like rain) and prevent drafts during the wintertime. More recent research suggests that bees not only survive, but thrive with increased ventilation during the winter in most temperate regions of the world. Propolis is now thought to:

  1. reinforce the structural stability of the hive
  2. reduce vibration
  3. make the hive more defensible by sealing alternate entrances
  4. Bees may also use it to prevent diseases and parasites in the hive.
  5. Bees normally carry waste (dead larvae, etc.) out of and away from the hive. However if, for example, a mouse chews its way into the hive for a winter nest and dies, the bees will be unable to move it out through the hive entrance. They have instead been known to seal the carcass in propolis, effectively mummifying the mouse.

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[edit] Uses

Propolis is marketed by health food stores as a traditional medicine, and for its claimed beneficial effect on human health. Holistic therapists often utilize propolis for the relief of many inflammations, viral diseases, ulcers, superficial burns or scalds, in conjunction with acupuncture, ayurveda or homeopathy. Propolis is also believed to promote heart health and reduce the chances of cataracts; most of these claims have never been clinically evaluated, in part because the composition of propolis is completely unpredictable (below). Depending upon its precise composition it may show powerful local antibiotic and antifungal properties.[citation needed] Also it is generally efficient in treating skin burns.[citation needed] Claims have been made for its use in treating allergy; it may stimulate the immune system, but some warn that it should not be taken if the user is likely to have severe allergic reaction to bees[citation needed], as small fragments of bee exoskeleton may be present.

Old beekeepers recommend a piece of propolis kept in the mouth as a remedy for a sore throat.[citation needed]

Propolis is used by music instrument makers to better show the wood grain. It is a component of Italian varnish and was reportedly used by Stradivari.

Propolis can also be used to treat canker sores.[citation needed]

[edit] Composition

The composition of propolis will vary from hive to hive, district to district, and from season to season. Normally it is dark brown colored, but it can be found in green, red, black and white hues, depending on the sources found in hive area. Bees are opportunists, and will gather what they need from available sources. Occasionally bees will even gather various caulking compounds of human manufacture, when the usual sources are more difficult to obtain. Therefore, the exact composition is never absolutely the same between any two areas, and various potential medicinal properties may be present in one hive's propolis, and absent from another; the properties of the propolis depend on the exact plant sources used by an individual hive, which the distributors of propolis and propolis products cannot control (a factor that may account for the many and varied claims as to its properties, and the difficulty of replicating scientific studies investigating these claims). Simply put, if the bees are at one time gathering resin from a plant whose resin has medicinal properties, these properties may be carried over into the propolis, but if the same colony switches to a different plant (one with no medicinal properties) later during the season, then the newer propolis will also lack medicinal properties. Therefore, even propolis samples taken from within a single colony can vary, making controlled clinical tests virtually impossible.

"Typical" propolis has approximately 50 constituents, primarily resins and vegetable balsams (50%), waxes (30%), essential oils (10%), and pollen (5%). Propolis is sticky at and above room temperature. At lower temperatures it becomes hard and very brittle.

[edit] See also

  • Discussion of bee space in the "Langstroth" section of beehive.

[edit] References

  • Trusheva, Boryana; Popova, Milena; Bankova, Vassya; Simova, Svetlana; Marcucci, Maria Cristina; Miorin, Patricia Laguna; Pasin, Flavia da Rocha & Tsvetkova, Iva (2006): Bioactive Constituents of Brazilian Red Propolis. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3(2): 249–254. DOI:10.1093/ecam/nel006 PDF fulltext

[edit] External links

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