Flavonoid, Phenolic Acid Content of Egyptian Honeys Analysed

Determination of Flavonoid and Phenolic Acid Contents of Clover, Cotton and Citrus Floral Honeys
J Egypt Public Health Assoc, 2009;84(3-4):245-59

Authentic samples of clover, cotton and citrus honeys were selected and extracted from their hives placed in clover, citrus, and cotton farms. Their botanical origin was assured then they were extracted and analyzed for flavonoids and phenolic acids content.

Results showed that the lowest percentage of authentic samples was found in cotton honey. Moreover, 93.00% +/- 3.00 of pollen grains found in clover honey samples were for clover, 16.25% +/- 3.18 of pollen grains found in cotton honey samples were for cotton and 32.50 % +/- 10.60 of pollen grains found in citrus honey samples were for citrus species.

In addition, the flavonone hesperetin was found only in citrus honey samples with a mean content of 1.08 +/- 0.36 mg/100 g honey whereas, the flavanol quercetin was found in the three floral honeys. The phenolic acids (cinnamic acid and p-hydroxy benzoic acid) were detected in the three floral honeys with different quantities.

It is recommended to use honey as a healthy alternative to sugar; also, to use hesperetin as a floral marker of citrus honey.

Royal Jelly Recommended for Stress

Stress and Sex
The Philippine Star, 11/5/2009

MANILA, Philippines - Too much dedication toward one’s work can bring too much stress. And too much stress can greatly affect one’s health.

Some of the common problems experienced by people under stress include depression, hair loss, irritability, and obesity. It can also affect the immune system, thus people with high stress levels are more prone to diseases such as diabetes.

Aside from these, stress can also lower one’s libido. Since chronic stress affects the function of hormones (cortisol and epinephrine), it can also affect hormones involved in one’s sexual response…

Supplements with royal jelly and ginseng can also improve one’s ability for sexual intimacy. Energin 300, for instance, provides a high dose of royal jelly and ginseng.

It is now being prescribed by many local doctors who have seen remarkable improvement in their patients. A lot of doctors have already considered Energin 300 as a natural enhancer of health and wellness.

Manufactured by NOW Foods, one of the leading manufacturers of vitamins and food supplements in the United States, Energin 300 has the highest amount of ginseng among similar brands that help improve one’s overall performance if taken regularly. Trianon International distributes it locally.

The beneficial effect of Energin 300 was recently shown in a pre-launch trial among office personnel and employees, public transport drivers, call center agents, and students who reported improved virility and sexual potency after taking Energin 300, according to Trianon marketing manager Charles Cultura.

Majority of the subjects also reported overall improvement in physical and mental performance, and ability to fight stress, he said…

Water Extract of Propolis Shows Higher Antimicrobial, Anti-Cancer Activity

Trigona laeviceps Propolis from Thailand: Antimicrobial, Antiproliferative and Cytotoxic Activities
The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 2009;37(5):855-865

Propolis is one of the natural bee products which has long been used as a crude preventative and prophylactic medicine, and has been reported to possess antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and anticancer properties.

Propolis of the stingless bee, Trigona laeviceps, was extracted by water or methanol at 35% (w/v) yielding a crude water or a methanolic extract at 60 and 80 mg/ml, respectively, which is 17.1 and 22.9% (w/w) of the total propolis, respectively.

The antimicrobial activity of both crude extracts was assayed on four selected pathogenic microbes by using the agar well diffusion method. The results suggested that both water and methanolic crude extracts have some antimicrobial activities, water extract has greater antimicrobial activity than methanolic extract…

Antiproliferative and cytotoxic affects were tested on the colon carcinoma cell line, SW620, using the three parameters: (1) MTT assay; (2) cell morphology; and (3) the fragmentation of genomic DNA.

The water extract of propolis showed a higher antiproliferative activity than that of methanolic extract to SW620 cells, additionally both appeared to cause cell death by necrosis.

Honey Blamed for UK Baby’s Botulism Paralysis

Honey On a Dummy Could Have Killed Tot
By Myra Philp, The Sun (UK), 11/4/2009

The baby fighting for his life with botulism could have caught it from sucking a dummy which had been dipped in honey, it emerged last night.

Little Logan Douglas was left paralysed by a potentially deadly toxin - one of the most poisonous known to man.

It can be caught from food including honey - often used to soothe kids - which has carried a health warning since 1978 saying it should not be given to tots under a year old.

Last night Logan was on a ventilator in Edinburgh Sick Kids hospital where he was taken after being admitted to hospital in Kirkcaldy six weeks ago…

Botulism is extremely rare and medics at first failed to spot the reason for Logan's paralysis…

It can be contracted in food and in wounds or it can form and release a toxin in the gut of babies.

Infant botulism was discovered in 1976. There have been just six cases in the UK - one where a baby was fed honey in water - but none in Scotland until now.

The Health Protection Agency Scotland said there have been no food cases since their records started in 1983 and only one where a wound was involved.

The last recorded case of infant botulism in the UK was in England in 2001.

A baby girl, aged just four months, contracted the disease on holiday in Spain. It took over a month for her to be taken off a ventilator.

Since 1976, over 1,000 cases of infant botulism have been reported worldwide, most of them in America…

Testing for Propolis Allergy Recommended

The Importance of Propolis in Patch Testing - A Multicentre Survey
Contact Dermatitis, 2009 Nov;61(5):287-90

Background: Propolis is widely used in 'natural' cosmetics, remedies, and over-the-counter products. The incidence of propolis allergy is increasing, and cross-reaction with fragrance mix I (FMII), colophonium, and Myroxylon pereirae can occur.

Objectives: To find out the prevalence and clinical relevance of positive patch tests to propolis and assess cross-reactions with Myroxylon pereirae, colophonium, FMI, and beeswax…

Results: The prevalence of propolis allergy was 1.9% (55/2828). Out of these 55 subjects, only 4 (7.2%) were allergic to beeswax, 22 (40%) to Myroxylon pereirae, 15 (27.2%) to colophonium, and 6 (10.9%) to FMI. Additional data for 41 propolis allergic subjects were collected by questionnaire. Hands were the most common sites of involvement, and cosmetics were the most common source of contact. Eight out of 12 subjects reported improvement in eczema following avoidance of propolis.

Conclusions: Propolis is an important allergen of increasing frequency and its inclusion in BCDS baseline series is appropriate. Cross-sensitivity to beeswax is rare.

Video: Oregon Volunteers Get Bee Beards

Volunteers from the Portland area offered their services, wearing a beard of live honeybees at OMSI, while Canadian honeybee expert John Gibeau talked about what makes bees special during his visit to Portland on Saturday, 10/31/09. Gibeau works with honeybees in the film industry using his expertise on films like 'Wicker Man' starring Nicolas Cage. Video by Tim Brown, OregonLive.com

Honey Better Than Medication for Children’s Coughs

Do OTC remedies relieve cough in acute upper respiratory infections?
J Fam Pract, 2009 Oct;58(10):559a-c

Dextromethorphan (DM) for adults and honey for children provide some relief. DM may modestly decrease cough in adults compared with placebo. The data supporting zinc for the common cold are mixed. Antihistamines, antihistamine-decongestant combinations, and guaifenesin do not provide greater relief than placebo in adults. In children, antihistamines, decongestants, DM, or combinations of them do not relieve cough better than placebo.

Honey may modestly decrease frequency and severity of cough compared with DM or no treatment.

Propolis Relieves Symptoms of Allergic Rhinitis

Effect of Brazilian propolis on Sneezing and Nasal Rubbing in Experimental Allergic Rhinitis of Mice
Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol, 2009;31(4):688-93

We studied the effect of Brazilian propolis on sneezing and nasal rubbing in experimental allergic rhinitis of mice.

A single administration of propolis caused no significant effect on both antigen-induced nasal rubbing and sneezing at a dose of 1000 mg/kg, but a significant inhibition was observed after repeated administration for 2 weeks at this dose.

Propolis caused no significant inhibitory effect on the production of total IgE level after repeated administration of 1000 mg/kg. The drug also caused no significant inhibition of histamine-induced nasal rubbing and sneezing at a dose of 1000 mg/kg.

On the other hand, propolis significantly inhibited histamine release from rat mast cells induced by antigen and compound 48/80 at a concentration of more than 10 microg/ml.

These results clearly demonstrated that propolis may be effective in the relief of symptoms of allergic rhinitis through inhibition of histamine release.

Darker Honeys Have Higher Antioxidant Activity

Profiling of alpha-Dicarbonyl Content of Commercial Honeys from Different Botanical Origins: Identification of 3,4-Dideoxyglucoson-3-ene (3,4-DGE) and Related Compounds
J Agric Food Chem, 2009 Oct 29. [Epub ahead of print]

The alpha-dicarbonyl contents of commercial honey samples from different botanical origins were analyzed as their quinoxaline derivatives using HPLC-DAD, HPLC-MS, HPLC-MS/MS, and HPLC-TOF-MS.

A total of nine such compounds were detected, of which five were previously reported in honey (glucosone, 3-deoxyglucosone, glyoxal, methylglyoxal, and 2,3-butanedione) and three were reported only from sources other than honey [3-deoxypentulose, 1,4-dideoxyhexulose, and 3,4-dideoxyglucoson-3-ene (3,4-DGE)].

An unknown alpha-dicarbonyl compound was also tentatively identified as an oxidation product of 3,4-DGE and was termed 3,4-dideoxyglucosone-3,5-diene (3,4-DGD). Only glyoxal (0.3-1.3 mg/kg), methylglyoxal (0.8-33 mg/kg), and 2,3-butanedione (0-4.3 mg/kg) were quantified in all honey samples.

Furthermore, analysis of the alpha-dicarbonyl profile of various honey samples indicated that certain alpha-dicarbonyl compounds are found in specific honey samples in much higher proportions relative to the average amounts.

The free radical scavenging activity as measured by DPPH method has also indicated that the darker honey samples such as buckwheat, manuka, blueberry, and eucalyptus had higher antioxidant properties compared to lighter-colored samples.

Royal Jelly Prevents Kidney Damage

Protective Effect of Royal Jelly and Green Tea Extracts Effect Against Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Mice: A Comparative Study
J Med Food, 2009 Oct;12(5):1136-1142

The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective role of royal jelly (RJ) and green tea (GT) extracts on cisplatin (cDDP)-induced nephrotoxicity in adult albino mice…

The results indicated that no significant differences in MDA, GSH, BUN, and creatinine levels were observed among the control group and groups treated with RJ alone and GT alone. However, there was a significant increase in BUN and creatinine parameters after cDDP application in Groups II, V, and VI…

In conclusion, 100 mg/kg of body weight doses of RJ and GT provided protection against cDDP-induced nephrotoxicity, and both products can act as protector agents against cDDP-induced kidney damages.

Propolis May Help Treat Food Poisoning

Antimicrobial Activity of Two Propolis Samples Against Human Campylobacter jejuni
J Med Food, 2009 Oct;12(5):1050-1056.

The aim of this study was to analyze the antimicrobial activity of two ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEPs) and selected flavonoids against 16 Campylobacter jejuni clinical isolates and several Gram-positive and Gram-negative human pathogens.

The antimicrobial activity of EEPs and flavonoids was evaluated by the agar well diffusion method. The EEPs inhibited the growth of C. jejuni, Enterobacter faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus.

The most active flavonoid was galangin, with the highest percentage of sensitivity among C. jejuni strains (68.8%); lower percentages of sensitivity were observed for quercetin (50%). The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of EEPs and flavonoids for C. jejuni isolates were determined by the agar dilution method. EEPs showed MIC values of 0.3125-0.156 mg/mL for all C. jejuni strains; galangin and quercetin gave MICs ranging from 0.250 to 0.125 mg/mL.

Thus propolis preparations could be used as support to traditional therapy for Campylobacter infection, especially when the antibiotic agents show no activity against this microorganism.

Basque Firm Researches Health Properties of Propolis

Propolis has Proved to be a Product with Ability to Have Beneficial Effects for Health

Basque Research, 10/27/2009

…Over the past 5 years, Neiker-Tecnalia, in collaboration with the Fundación Kalitatea, apicultural associations in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, honey producing plants and Basque governmental bodies, has undertaken R+D projects associated with the beekeeping sector. Various products derived from the beehive have been studied and propolis has proved to be a product having beneficial results for human health.

Propolis (Pro-before, Polis-city = defence of the city), is the resinous substance that bees gather from the leaf buds of trees and certain vegetables. The bee gathers this and transforms it in order to disinfect the beehive, seal cracks, build panels, as well as using it as a microbiocidal agent, disinfectant and also for embalming intruders otherwise difficult to expel due to their size. Propolis is, thus, directly responsible for guaranteeing the asepsis of the beehives, locations prone to developing viruses and bacteria, given their conditions of temperature and humidity.

Although the precise composition of propolis depends on the zone of beehive activity (climate, surrounding vegetation, and so on), as a rough guide, we can mention the following: resins and balsams (50-60%), waxes (20-25%), essential oils (5-10%), pollen (5%), others (minerals, enzymes, etc. 5%).

The fraction of resins and balsams is the one that contains most of the biologically active compounds, mainly phenolic ones derived from the vegetable kingdom and having proven pharmacological abilities. Due to the great number of active ingredients present, tincture (alcoholic extract) of propolis is well-known and used for its therapeutic properties, principally for its stimulant action on the organism’s defence system. Notable amongst its properties are its antioxidant and anti-microbial action, its activity as a stimulant and its healing, analgesic, anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory activity…

Royal Jelly Reduces Blood Sugar Levels

Royal Jelly Reduces the Serum Glucose Levels in Healthy Subjects
J Med Food, 2009 Oct;12(5):1170-1172.

Earlier biological investigations have shown that royal jelly has insulin-like activity. However, there have so far been no clinical trials to support these findings. The objective of the present study was to study the effect of royal jelly ingestion on the glucose metabolism of healthy humans.

Twenty volunteers underwent the standardized oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and afterwards a second OGTT after ingestion of 20 g of royal jelly. Serum glucose levels after 2 hours and the area under the curve for glucose were significantly lower (P = .041) after royal jelly administration.

Substances originating from the pharyngeal glands of the honey bee with insulin-like activity are likely to have caused this effect and may thus be, at least partially, responsible for the lowering impact of honey on blood glucose levels.

The identification of the substances that seem to act even after passage through the human stomach could lead to the development of new concepts in diabetology.

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Bee Venom Peptide May Help Treat Cancer

Tumor Protein p53 (TP53; p53); mdm2 p53 Binding Protein Homolog (MDM2) Distillery: Therapeutics, Published online Oct. 22 2009

A bee venom–derived peptide could provide a scaffold for p53 inhibitors to treat cancer.