Propolis

What is propolis?

Propolis is a natural material generated from plant resins that honeybees collect along with nectar and pollen for sustenance. It is also referred to as 'bee glue'.

So, how do honeybees create propolis?

When a plant is injured, it will exude a resin to help heal the wound and prevent additional damage or insect attacks. In addition to this, they resins are made to shield budding plants from harmful free radicals. As an analogy, resins play the role of white blood cells in a plant's immune system.

Bees collect the resins and return to the hive, where other bees remove the sticky substance from their legs, and then combine the plant resins with saliva and wax.  Bees chew on the various ingredients to combine them. The resulting crude propolis is used to patch up the hive when any damage has occurred

Exactly what function does it provide for bees?

Bees also use propolis to seal up any gaps or crevices in the hive, which helps to keep the colony warm and prevents the introduction of unwanted pests. Additionally, it's employed to fortify the wax honeycomb structure that houses the beetles' larvae and food reserves.

Why do people make use of it?

Along with the other ingredients, it is used to relieve pain and speed up the recovery of sores.  A study has shown that using propolis helps heals sores faster tacna traditional treatment such as acyclovir In light of its many useful qualities, propolis is now commonly found in a wide variety of over-the-counter beauty aids, including lotions, cleansers, and even toothpaste. As our knowledge increase, no doubt numerous new applications for propolis will be discovered.

Past Applications

At least as far back as 300 BC, when the ancient Egyptians and Greeks were thought to have utilized propolis.  It is said that the Egyptians employed propolis as a glue for the mummification and in other stages of the embalming procedure.  The Greeks and Assyrians used it to heal wounds. 

How does propolis fare chemically?

Propolis is mostly composed of phenolics and flavonoids, two classes of plant-derived chemicals. Propolis from different parts of the world has roughly 20 million potential chemical combinations.  Propolis is so stable that it can be stored for years without deteriorating or losing its helpful features as long as it is maintained in the dark in sealed containers.  Because of its preservation properties, we can avoid using parabens in our formulation.