What is propolis and what does it do?

Propolis is one of the many resourceful items bees make. Propolis is produced by bees through mixing plant parts, sap and their own secretions. This product is made in order to protect their home. Some people refer to it as bee glue since they use it to rebuild the hive, and protect the hive from weather / invaders." The name propolis come from greek origin, pro meaning the "entrance" and polis meaning "the city or community". 

Propolis also has incredible nutritional value. As with raw honey and bee pollen a lot of the nutritional value can change based upon the location, and time that the bees are harvesting pollen. Scientists have said that on average propolis contains over 300 different compounds, most of them being polyphenols which are antioxidants! As we know antioxidants are important for fighting free radicals and helping reduce oxidation of cells (damaging of cells)! 

“Propolis is a complex mixture made by bee-released and plant-derived compounds. In general, raw propolis is composed of around 50% resins, 30% waxes, 10% essential oils, 5% pollen, and 5% of various organic compounds.” (NIH)

Propolis was used throughout history as antibacterial, antiviral, anti-fungal, and also for burn and wound healing. We know that “Antioxidants have been shown to be capable of scavenging free radicals and thereby protecting lipids and other compounds such as vitamin C from being oxidized or destroyed [58]. It is probable that active free radicals, together with other factors, are responsible for cellular aging and degradation in such conditions as cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Oxidative damage may also result in poor liver function. Studies on rats in vitro show that propolis extracts protect against damage to liver cells [59].” (NIH).

Propolis has the potential to also be antitumoral as well. In animal and cell cultures we have seen that propolis can inhibit DNA replication in tumor cells, cause apoptosis in cancer cells and activate macrophages in regulating T,B, and NK cells. “​​Although many polyphenols have an antimetastatic activity, caffeic acid phenethyl esters (CAPE) from poplar propolis and Artepillin C from Baccharis propolis have been identified as the most potent antitumor agents [64–68] “. ( NIH).

While all of these treatments sound amazing there still is more research that needs to be done to know if these treatments are viable in humans at a large scale and not just isolated cell cultures or animal models. 

If you are wanting to add a bigger boost to your health routine we highly suggest checking out propolis! It is a true super food! 

Disclaimer

**We are not medical professionals, nor should this information be used as medical consultation. This information is for educational purposes. You should consult a doctor before making any serious medical decisions. In no way do we claim that our product will diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.**

Sources: 

https://www.healthline.com/health/propolis-an-ancient-healer

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3872021/

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/propolis#insufficient-evidence