Beyond Pollination: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) as Zootherapy Keystone Species

Abstract

The keystone species concept is a useful ecological concept to explain how some species exert a strong force on their community structure; this paper strives to expand the definition to include species that are used in zootherapy, i.e., the use of animals for medicinal purposes. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) can be considered a zootherapy keystone species that exerts a strong impact on other trophic levels through their products that relate to disease resistance. Honey bee products (i.e., honey, propolis, venom, beeswax, bee bread, and royal jelly) confer pathogen/pest resistance. Each of these products have been shown to exhibit antipathogenic properties and to act as a colony-level defense mechanism against disease. The phenomenon of a collective immune defense in social insects, termed social immunity, has evolved for defense against pathogens which spread easily in highly dense eusocial systems, such as that of honey bees. In apitherapy, a type of zootherapy, humans can use honey bee products to improve their health via pathogen resistance. The implication of these phenomena is that honey bees, through their products, can manipulate the microbial community structure both within the hive and outside the hive when these products are used in apitherapy. Because of their importance to human health, zootherapy keystone species should be a top priority in terms of conservation.

Antibacterial Effect of Honey-Derived Exosomes Containing Antimicrobial Peptides Against Oral Streptococci

“…8,9 In the past, the antibacterial effect of these substances has been mostly attributed to compounds such as methylglyoxal and peroxide, as well as factors such as pH and osmolarity. 10,11 Recently, our group has demonstrated for the first time the presence of exosome-like extracellular vesicles (EVs) in A. mellifera products such as royal jelly, bee pollen and honey. 8 These EVs were found to be in the size range <150nm and display interkingdom effects, such as influencing human mesenchymal stem cell migration, as well as antibacterial and antibiofilm effects on the model Grampositive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.…”

Propolis supplementation affects performance, intestinal morphology, and bacterial population of broiler chickens

“…Propolis possibly promoted growth performance in broilers because of the increase of certain enzyme activities, primarily sucrase, as shown in this study. Other plausible reasons are related to the nutritional and bioactive contents of propolis, such as vitamins, flavonoids, minerals, and essential oils (Figure 1) (Awadalla & Kamel, 2000;Gardana et al, 2007;Easton-Calabria et al, 2019).…”

Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development

“…Zero hunger 2.2 2.3 Klein et al 2007 ; Kleijn et al 2015 ; Potts et al 2016a ; Stein et al 2017 ; Klein et al 2018 Bee pollination increases crop yield (2.3) and enhances the nutritional value of fruits, vegetables, and seeds (2.2) 3. Good health and well-being 3.4 3.8 3.9 Bradbear, 2009 ; Brockerhoff et al 2017 ; Pasupuleti et al 2017 ; Sforcin et al 2017 ; Kocot et al 2018 ; Easton-Calabria et al 2019 ; Bee products provide safe and affordable medicinal sources (3.8) used in traditional and modern medicine to treat non-communicable diseases such as cancer through strong bioactive compounds (3.4). Bee pollination potentially contributes to the growth and diversity of plants that are important for improved air quality (3.9) 4.…”

“…In relation to health, honey, bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly, beeswax and bee venom have all been used in traditional and modern medicine (target 3.8) (Kocot et al 2018 ; Easton-Calabria et al 2019 ). Researchers have identified bioactive properties of honey, propolis and royal jelly which suggest the presence of compounds with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor, and anticancer activities (Pasupuleti et al 2017 ; Kocot et al 2018 ; Easton-Calabria et al 2019 ). Honey is used in wound and ulcer care, to enhance oral health, fight gastric disorders, and liver and pancreatic diseases, as well as to promote cardiovascular health (Pasupuleti et al 2017 ; Easton-Calabria et al 2019 ).…”

“…Researchers have identified bioactive properties of honey, propolis and royal jelly which suggest the presence of compounds with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor, and anticancer activities (Pasupuleti et al 2017 ; Kocot et al 2018 ; Easton-Calabria et al 2019 ). Honey is used in wound and ulcer care, to enhance oral health, fight gastric disorders, and liver and pancreatic diseases, as well as to promote cardiovascular health (Pasupuleti et al 2017 ; Easton-Calabria et al 2019 ). Propolis is used in gynaecological care, oral health, dermatology care, and oncology treatments, whilst royal jelly is used in reproductive care, neurodegenerative and aging diseases, and wound healing (target 3.4) (Pasupuleti et al 2017 ).…”