Therapeutic Properties of Bioactive Compounds from Different Honeybee Products

Abstract

Honeybees produce honey, royal jelly, propolis, bee venom, bee pollen, and beeswax, which potentially benefit to humans due to the bioactives in them. Clinical standardization of these products is hindered by chemical variability depending on honeybee and botanical sources, but different molecules have been isolated and pharmacologically characterized. Major honey bioactives include phenolics, methylglyoxal, royal jelly proteins (MRJPs), and oligosaccharides. In royal jelly there are antimicrobial jelleins and royalisin peptides, MRJPs, and hydroxy-decenoic acid derivatives, notably 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, neuromodulatory, metabolic syndrome preventing, and anti-aging activities. Propolis contains caffeic acid phenethyl ester and artepillin C, specific of Brazilian propolis, with antiviral, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects. Bee venom consists of toxic peptides like pain-inducing melittin, SK channel blocking apamin, and allergenic phospholipase A2. Bee pollen is vitaminic, contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory plant phenolics, as well as antiatherosclerotic, antidiabetic, and hypoglycemic flavonoids, unsaturated fatty acids, and sterols. Beeswax is widely used in cosmetics and makeup. Given the importance of drug discovery from natural sources, this review is aimed at providing an exhaustive screening of the bioactive compounds detected in honeybee products and of their curative or adverse biological effects.

Apitherapy for Osteoarthritis: Perspectives from Basic Research

“…Beehive products have an impact on several pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the development and evolution of OA. The development of preclinical and clinical research with hive products will allow accurate determination of clinical efficacy and adverse effects for each of these products [38].…”

Bioactive constituents, in vitro radical scavenging and antibacterial activities of selected Apis mellifera honey from Kenya

“…Honey is a mixture of mainly sugars (predominantly fructose and glucose) and water, alongside other minor constituents such as proteins, amino acids, enzymes, organic acids, vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and volatile compounds (Alvarez-Suarez et al, 2014;da Silva et al, 2016). Though their concentration in honey is minor, the latter compounds have been shown to contribute significantly to honey's biofunctional properties (Cornara et al, 2017). Honey composition varies depending on its floral and geographical origin (Gambacorta et al, 2014;Castiglioni et al, 2018).…”

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“…Cornara et al, 32 emphasize that studies aimed at refining the knowledge of action mechanisms from bee products are pivotal importance for developing applications of honeybee products to medicinal uses, because the complexity and variability in composition of these products raise the need of their standardization before safe and predictable clinical uses can be achieved.…”