Around 20 BC, the Roman poet Virgil wrote in the 4th book of his didactic poems “Georgica”: “They lay tear-dew of the narcissus And glue of the bark For the honeycombs as the first ground”. The glue of the bark is resin, which bees make from the resinous components of the buds of trees. Like human craftsmen, they use it to seal joints and cracks. Each brood comb is also covered with a thin film of propolis to prevent germs from destroying the brood. The individual substances of propolis are interesting for medicine. It is said to have an effect comparable to antibiotics.
Definition: propolis
The word propolis comes from the Greek (pro – in front of, for; polis – city) and means something like “in front of the city” or also “for the city”. The resin produced by the bees themselves keeps viruses, fungi and bacteria out of the hive. Bees collect resin from conifers or tree buds and stow the resinous wax in their pollen baskets. In the hive, they mix it with wax and flower pollen. They use it to disinfect the interior of their hive and seal smaller cracks.
Effect of propolis
Propolis has a pronounced antibiotic and also antiviral and antifungal effect. It is considered the strongest natural antibiotic. Occasionally beekeepers are surprised to find a mouse mummified with propolis in the hive: The intruder has been stung to death, but the bees cannot remove it. To prevent it from decaying and contaminating the hive with bacteria, they coat it with a film of propolis. This technique was also used by the Egyptians – they mummified their corpses with resin and propolis, respectively.
Application as a multipurpose antibacterial agent
Several thousand years ago, the antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial effects of propolis in humans were already known. The Greek Hippocrates (460 – 377 BC) already referred to the effect of propolis for ulcers on the skin and gastrointestinal tract in ancient times.
Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) appreciated the healing properties of propolis especially for bruises, skin diseases and purulent wounds. The Roman Gaius Plinius Secundus (23 – 79 AD) wrote about the effect of propolis from the bee colony. The Incas used propolis for febrile infections. The Roman military doctors needed it as a wound disinfectant, and even in the Second World War it was used for this purpose in Russia.
Today, scientists around the world are studying the medicinal properties of this building material of bees: Propolis actually strengthens the immune system, acts against inflammation of mucous membranes and skin diseases.
Propolis: application in cancer?
Animal studies testing isolated ingredients from propolis on tumor cells have been ongoing for decades. The focus here is on the active ingredient caffeic acid phenethyl ester, which can inhibit gene-regulated chemotherapy resistance in cell cultures.
In clinical studies, however, neither that ester nor other substances from propolis have so far been able to assert themselves as a form of therapy against cancer.
Often also from a supporting effect of Propolis for patients with irradiation-conditioned Mukositis the speech is. However, further research is needed here as well, since the data are inconclusive.
