Replies

No propolis and royal jelly are totally different. They are just both very highly regarded.

Propolis has tremendous anti-infection qualities, I just came across an article that at the Univ of Minnesota they are studying it against AIDS and are getting promising results.

http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Feature_Stories/Propolis_an_ancient_remedy_may_fight_AIDS.html

Royal Jelly is a "super nutrient" and "fountain of youth". The bees make it from what they gather from the flowers: honey, pollen, but they may actually process it somehow. They use it to feed the Queen Bee, which lives 10 times as long as the worker bees, so maybe there is something to that.

People who take Royal Jelly report feeling better, healthier, more energetic, etc. and is considered an anti-aging for humans too.

All of the claims for these products are anecdotal. The research that has been done is largely from Europe and the old Soviet bloc. Yes, propolis has interesting qualities, but you cannot stress the need for verifiable evidence too much when people's health is concerned. As a result, I actually act as something of a critic of these products event though I produce, process and sell them.

Propolis can be varied in composition, but the usual major component is taken from the resinous materials sheathing young buds on trees. Other waxes, resins, saps and exudate's can be also present.

Royal jelly is a fat and protein rich excretion that bees make to feed the developing queen larvae. It is synthesized solely from pollen and honey which the bees consume and utilize to produce this product from hypopharengeal glands (near their mandibles). The young queen consumes a tremendous amount of this specialized material and it is this nutritional advantage alone that separates her from her underdeveloped and sterile sisters.

Despite the widespread claims for royal jelly, little has been done to quantify or analyze any factual claims in its favor. Nutrient rich, yes, but I tend to think of it on par with panaceas. The great mystique seems to be its relative scarcity since a single queen cell may only contain a gram or so. Thousands of Chinese beekeepers are needed to slave for the world's supply since swarm conditions must be induced and maintained in the colony thus needing constant supervision and management or the loss of the productive colony and the production of the royal jelly.