The varroacidal action of propolis: a laboratory assay

Garedew, Assegid; Lamprecht, I.; Schmolz, Erik; Schricker, B.

doi:10.1051/apido:2001006

Cited by 38 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…Although there is evidence that propolis has activity against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor (Damiani et al, 2010;Garedew et al, 2002), the bioactivity of propolis was observed only in laboratory conditions and we did not note any effect of the propolis on Varroa levels in the field. The lack of a significant difference in the levels of Varroa mites in May between control and propolis envelope colonies was expected as all colonies received miticide treatment before the winter.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 67%

Seasonal benefits of a natural propolis envelope to honey bee immunity and colony health

Borba

Klyczek

Mogen

et al. 2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Honey bees, as social insects, rely on collective behavioral defenses that produce a colony-level immune phenotype, or social immunity, which in turn impacts the immune response of individuals. One behavioral defense is the collection and deposition of antimicrobial plant resins, or propolis, in the nest. We tested the effect of a naturally constructed propolis envelope within standard beekeeping equipment on the pathogen and parasite load of large field colonies, and on immune system activity, virus and storage protein levels of individual bees over the course of a year. The main effect of the propolis envelope was a decreased and more uniform baseline expression of immune genes in bees during summer and autumn months each year, compared with the immune activity in bees with no propolis envelope in the colony. The most important function of the propolis envelope may be to modulate costly immune system activity. As no differences were found in levels of bacteria, pathogens and parasites between the treatment groups, the propolis envelope may act directly on the immune system, reducing the bees' need to activate the physiologically costly production of humoral immune responses. Colonies with a natural propolis envelope had increased colony strength and vitellogenin levels after surviving the winter in one of the two years of the study, despite the fact that the biological activity of the propolis diminished over the winter. A natural propolis envelope acts as an important antimicrobial layer enshrouding the colony, benefiting individual immunity and ultimately colony health.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 67%

Seasonal benefits of a natural propolis envelope to honey bee immunity and colony health

Borba

Klyczek

Mogen

et al. 2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…In vivo assay Damiani et al 2010;Garedew et al 2002;Garedew et al 2003a Bee products for self-medication…”

Section: Resin and Propolismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Feeding propolis ethanolic extracts to wax moth (Galleria mellonella ) larvae in in vivo assays reduced wax moth larval growth, survival and heat production with increasing propolis concentration (Eischen and Dietz 1987;Garedew et al 2004a;Johnson et al 1994). Topical application of propolis extracts on V. destructor in vivo in the honeybee colony resulted in narcotic and lethal effects on the mite, and again interfered negatively with the larval heat production (Damiani et al 2010;Garedew et al 2002Garedew et al , 2003a. Indeed, Simone-Finstrom and Spivak (2010) suggested a propolis treatment to reduce mature female mite production at the colony level.…”

Section: Resin and Propolismentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmacophagy and pharmacophory: mechanisms of self-medication and disease prevention in the honeybee colony (Apis mellifera)

2015

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-Apitherapy promises cures for diseases in human folk medicine, but the effects of honeybee produced and foraged compounds on bee health are less known. Yet, hive products should chiefly facilitate medication and sanitation of the honeybees themselves rather than other organisms. We here review the impact of both self-produced gland secretions and foraged hive products (pharmacognosy) on colony health. Although foraged plant-derived compounds vary highly in antibiotic activity depending on the floral and regional origins, secondary plant metabolites in honey, pollen and propolis are important for the antibiotic activity against pathogens and parasites. However, specific bee health-enhancing activities of bee products should clearly be distinguished from the effects of an intact nutrition ensuring the basic immune competence of bees. Further unravelling the interactions among groups of active substances or individual compounds used in concert with specific behavioural adaptations will deepen our understanding of the natural potential of honeybees to maintain colony health.honey / propolis / pollen / bee bread / royal jelly / antimicrobial activity / self-medication / host-parasite interaction

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“…Information on the effect of propolis against this parasitic mite has the possibility to shed light on the use of propolis as an in-hive treatment, but also on a possible natural benefit of propolis use by honey bees. A series of laboratory assays have shown that directly exposing mites held in petri dishes to relatively low concentrations of ethanolic propolis extracts caused high mortality (100% due to contact with 10% extract; Garedew et al, 2002). Furthermore exposure to extracts at concentrations as low as 0.5% caused narcotic effects leading to reduced heat production and metabolic rates (Garedew et al, 2002(Garedew et al, , 2003.…”

Section: Varroa Destructormentioning

confidence: 99%

Propolis and bee health: the natural history and significance of resin use by honey bees

2010

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-Social immunity, which describes how individual behaviors of group members effectively reduce disease and parasite transmission at the colony level, is an emerging field in social insect biology. An understudied, but significant behavioral disease resistance mechanism in honey bees is their collection and use of plant resins. Honey bees harvest resins with antimicrobial properties from various plant species and bring them back to the colony where they are then mixed with varying amounts of wax and utilized as propolis. Propolis is an apicultural term for the resins when used by bees within a hive. While numerous studies have investigated the chemical components of propolis that could be used to treat human diseases, there is a lack of information on the importance of propolis in regards to bee health. This review serves to provide a compilation of recent research concerning the behavior of bees in relation to resins and propolis, focusing more on the bees themselves and the potential evolutionary benefits of resin collection. Future research goals are also established in order to create a new focus within the literature on the natural history of resin use among the social insects and role that propolis plays in disease resistance.Apis mellifera / social immunity / antimicrobial defense / ecological immunity

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The varroacidal action of propolis: a laboratory assay

Cited by 38 publications

References 11 publications

Seasonal benefits of a natural propolis envelope to honey bee immunity and colony health

Seasonal benefits of a natural propolis envelope to honey bee immunity and colony health

Pharmacophagy and pharmacophory: mechanisms of self-medication and disease prevention in the honeybee colony (Apis mellifera)

Propolis and bee health: the natural history and significance of resin use by honey bees

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