POET of PROPOLIS

Other bees, like soldiers,

Armed in their stings,

Make boot upon the summer's velvet buds,

Which pillage they with merry

March bring home.
[Shakespeare, Henry the V]

What a poetical devination! It seems that Shakespeare new that propolis is gathered by the bees from summers velvet buds of poplars.

The word propolis originate from Greek: «pro» = in front, «polis» = city. "Propoliso" means in Greek also to stick. The meaning „ in front of the city „ suits well the protecting role of propolis for the bee colony. Propolis is also called bee glue, to symbolise the cleaving function of propolis in the bee hive. Bees gather resinous exudates originating mainly from buds, but also from leaves, branches and barks. As propolis has a strong antibacterial and fungicide properties it creates in the hive a highly hygienic environment, although the temperature of 37o C is ideal for the development of microbes.

Health enhancing properties
Propolis is one of the strongest natural antibiotics. As the antimicrobial activity is due to many different substances, the development of resistance of the bacteria is impossible. It showed many different biological effects in animal and cell experiments. The most important are:

1. Antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal
2. Immuno-modulating, anti-inflammatory
3. Anti-cancerogenic
4. Local anaesthetic
5. Liver protecting
6. Radiation protective

In Medicine it has a wide therapeutic use in different branches, the most important being Dermatology, Gynecology, Stomatology, Odontology and Gastroenterology.

[http://www.bee-hexagon.net/en/propolis.htm]